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A STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF BENGAL.
VOL. XII.
' PRINTED BY BALLANTYNK, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON
4
/ N Statistical Account of Bengal.
By W. W. HUNTER, B.A., LL.D.,
DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF STATISTICS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ;
■t OF THE COUNCIL OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOC1ETV J HONORARY OR FOREIGN MEMBER OF THE tOYAL INSTITUTE OF NETHERLANDS INDIA AT THE HAGUE, OF THE INST1TUTO VASCO DA GAMA OF PORTUGUESE INDIA, OF THE DUTCH SOCIETY IN JAVA, AND OF THE ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY, LONDON ; HONORARY FELLOW OF THE CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY; ORDINARY FELLOW OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, ETC.
VOLUME XII. DISTRICTS OF GAYA AND ShXhAbXD.
TLIE ACCOUNT OF GAYA HAS BEEN COMPILED BY D. B. ALLEN, Esq. ;
AND THAT OF SIIAhAbAD BY MESSRS D. B. ALLEN, A. W. MACKIE, and H. H. RISLEY,
ASSISTANTS TO THE DIRECTOR-GBNERAL OF STATISTICS.
TRUBNER & CO., LONDON, 1877.
/ . '
PREFACE
TO VOLUME XII. OF
THE STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF BENGAL.
This Volume treats of the Districts of Gaya and Shihabad, separated from each other by the broad channel of the River S6n, but possessing many features in common. The moun tain plateau of Central India here approaches the valley of the Ganges, and the characteristic scenery and climate of Lower Bengal begin to undergo a change. The average annual rainfall does not exceed forty inches, while in summer the dry winds of Northern Hindustan make them selves felt. During the rains, the rivers are subject to violent floods ; but in the dry season they dwindle into trickling streams or lines of pools amid long expanses of sand. Though the soil is fertile, where it can be artificially watered, it does not produce the luxuriant vegetation which spontaneously springs up among the swamps of the Gangetic delta. The annual out-turn of the crops is barely sufficient to support the dense local population. In Gaya District, the hills fringe the southern boundary, and throw out isolated ridges and clusters into the level plains. These detached peaks possess a historical import ance, as being associated with the life of the founder of the Buddhist faith. In modern times, an additional reli gious interest has gathered round the town of Gaya, the 6 PREFACE. burial-place of the Hindu god of the lower regions, and pilgrims flock to it in thousands from the furthest corners of the Peninsula. The physical aspect of Shahabad District is more varied. A large area to the south is entirely occupied by the Kaimur plateau, an elevated tract overgrown with jungle, from which the hill torrents leap through picturesque glens down to the plain beneath. The plain divides itself into an alluvial portion, watered by the annual overflow of the Ganges, and a somewhat higher tract over which the main system of the S6n Canals is destined to distribute fertility. Shahabad is rich in historical sites. Ruins of aboriginal strongholds are scattered through the country. Secluded on the Kaimur plateau is perched the hill-fort of Rohtasgarh, which figures prominently in the annals of native warfare. At Sasseram was born and buried the Afghan Emperor Sher Shah, whose signal victory over his Mughul rival, Humayun, was won at Chausa, also within the limits of this District. A few miles from Chausa lies Baxar, the scene of the crowning battle which gave Bengal to the British ; while the Head-quarter Station of Arrah recalls one of the most glorious pages in the story of the Mutiny of 1857. The total area dealt with in this volume amounts to 9103 square miles, containing, in 1872, a population of 3,673,724 souls.
1877. W. W. H. table of contents: districts of gayA and shAhAbAd.
District of GayA — PAGES Topography and General Aspects, 17-28 Area and Boundaries, . . . 17-18 Jurisdiction, ...... 18 Physical Aspects, . . . 18-19 Hills, 19 River System, .... 19-23 River Traffic and Fisheries, . 23-25 Lines of Drainage, .... 25 Mineral Products, .... 25-26 Forest and Jungle Products, . . 26-27 Feree Naturae, . . . . 28
The People, ..... 28-82 Population, including the Census of 1872, . 28-32 Ethnical Division of the People, . . 32-34 Immigration and Emigration, . 34-35 List of Castes, . . 35 -3 8 Religious Division of the People, . . 39-41 Division of the People into Town and Country, 41-42 List of Towns and Villages, etc., . . 42-65 6 PREFACE.
burial-place of the Hindu god of the lower regions, and pilgrims flock to it in thousands from the furthest corners of the Peninsula. The physical aspect of Shdhdbdd District is more varied. A large area to the south is entirely occupied by the Kaimur plateau, an elevated tract overgrown with jungle, from which the hill torrents leap through picturesque glens down to the plain beneath. The plain divides itself into an alluvial portion, watered by the annual overflow of the Ganges, and a somewhat higher tract over which the main system of the Son Canals is destined to distribute fertility. Shdhdbdd is rich in historical sites. Ruins of aboriginal strongholds are scattered through the country. Secluded on the Kaimur plateau is perched the hill-fort of Rohtdsgarh, which figures prominently in the annals of native warfare. At Sdsserdm was born and buried the Afghdn Emperor Sher Shdh, whose signal victory over his Mughul rival, Humdyun, was won at Chausd, also within the limits of this District. A few miles from Chausd lies Baxdr, the scene of the crowning battle which gave Bengal to the British ; while the Head-quarter Station of Arrah recalls one of the most glorious pages in the story of the Mutiny of 1857. The total area dealt with in this volume amounts to 9103 square miles, containing, in 1872, a population of 3,673,724 souls.
1877. W. W. H. table of contents: districts of gayA and shAhAbAd.
District of Gay! — PAGES Topography and General Aspects, . 17-28 Area and Boundaries, . . . 17-18 Jurisdiction, . . . . 18 Physical Aspects, . . . 18-19 Hills, 19 River System, .... 19-23 River Traffic and Fisheries, . . 23-25 Lines of Drainage, .... 25 Mineral Products, .... 25-26 Forest and Jungle Products, . 26-27 Ferae Naturas, .... 28
The People, ..... 28-82 Population, including the Census of 1872, . 28-32 Ethnical Division of the People, . . 32-34 Immigration and Emigration, . 34-35 List of Castes, .... 35-38 Religious Division of the People, . . 39"4i Division of the People into Town and Country, 41-42 List of Towns and Villages, etc., . . 42-65 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
District of ShAhAbad — continued.
Topography and General Aspects — continued.
PAGES Physical Aspect, . . . 158-159 Hills, ...... 159-160 River System, .... 160-167 Fisheries, . . . 167 Lines of Drainage, .... 168 Canals, .168-172 Jungle Products, '. 172-176 Minerals, ..... 176-179 Ferae Naturae, . . 179-180
The People, ..... 180-229 Population, including the Census of 1872, . 180-183 Ethnical Division of the People, . . 183-186 Immigration and Emigration, 186-188 Aboriginal Tribes, . . . 188- 191 List of Castes, .... 191-201 Religious Division of the People, 201-202 Division of the People into Town and Country, 202-203 List of Towns and Places of Historical Interest, 204-217 The Mutiny in Shahabad, . 217-219 Village Institutions and Officials, . 219-223 Material Condition of the People, Dress, Dwell ings, Food, Amusements, etc, . . 223-229
Agriculture, ..... 229-250 List of Crops, .... 229 Soils, ...... 229-230 Rice Cultivation, .... 230-232 Other Cereals, .... 233-234 Other Crops, .... 234-237 TABLE OF CONTENTS. ii
District of Shahabad — continued.
Agriculture — continued. PAGES Indigo Cultivation, .... 237-238 Cultivated Area, Out-turn of Crops, etc., . 238-240 Condition of the Peasantry, . . . 240 Domestic Animals and Agricultural Implements, 240-243 Wages and Prices, .... 243-245 Weights and Measures, 245 Land Tenures, .... 245-246 Landless Day-Labourers, . . 246-247 Rates of Rent, .... 247-248 Manure, ..... 248-249 Irrigation, ..... 249-250 Rotation of Crops, . . . 250
Natural Calamities, 250-255 Blights and Floods, . 408 Droughts, 251 The Famine of 1866, . 251-253 The Famine of 1873-74, 253-254 Famine Warnings, 255
Foreign and Absentee Landlords, 255
Means of Communication, Manufactures, Commerce, Institutions, etc., . 255-271 Roads, .... 255-257 Railways, .... 257 Manufactures,. 257-263 Commerce and Trade, 263-269 Capital and Interest, 269-270 Local Institutions, 270-271 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
District of Shahabad — continued.
Topography and General Aspects — continued.
Physical Aspect, . . 158-159 Hills, ...... 159-160 River System, .... 160-167 Fisheries, . . 167 Lines of Drainage, 168 Canals, . 168-172 Jungle Products, .... 172-176 Minerals, ..... 176-179 Ferae Naturae, .... 179-180
The People, ..... 180-229 Population, including the Census of 1872, . 180-183 Ethnical Division of the People, . 183-186 Immigration and Emigration, 186-188 Aboriginal Tribes, .... 1 88-191 List of Castes, .... 191-201 Religious Division of the People, . . 201-202 Division of the People into Town and Country, 202-203 List of Towns and Places of Historical Interest, 204-217 The Mutiny in Shahabad, . 217-219 Village Institutions and Officials, 219-223 Material Condition of the People, Dress, Dwell ings, Food, Amusements, etc., . 223-229
Agriculture, ..... 229-250 List of Crops, .... 229 Soils, ...... 229-230 Rice Cultivation, .... 230-232 Other Cereals, .... 233-234 V Other Crops, .... 234-237 ERRATUM.
Page 76, 3 lines from foot, for " Rs. 4-8 or 9s., " read " Rs. 3-8or 7s."
I SHALL be grateful for any corrections or suggestions which occur to the reader. They may be addressed to me, at the India Office, Westminster. W. W. H.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
The local weights and measures are given in detail at pp. 98-100, and 245. In some instances, in the following volume, these weights and measures have been converted into their English equi valents, and the native names have not been added. In such cases the reconversion from the English equivalents may be effected with sufficient accuracy in accordance with the following tables : —
MONEY. 1 pie (^r of an anna) = J farthing. 1 pice (\ of an anna) = i£ farthings. 1 anni (Txff of a rupee) = i£ pence. The rupee is worth, according to the rate of exchange, from is. 8d. to 2s., but for conventional purposes it is taken at 2s.
WEIGHTS. The unit of weight is the ser (seer), which varies in different Dis tricts from about i| lbs. to 2*205 lbs. This latter is the standard ser as fixed by Government, and corresponds to the metrical kilogramme. For local calculations in Lower Bengal, the recognised ser may be taken at 2 lbs. The conversion of Indian into English weights would then be as follows : — 1 chatak (TV of a ser) = 2 oz. 1 ser (^ of a maund) = 2 lbs. 1 man or maund (say) - 82 lbs.
LAND MEASURE. The unit of land measure is the bigha, which varies from J of an acre to almost 1 acre. The Government standard bigha is 14,400 square feet, or say J of an acre ; and this bighi has been uniformly adopted throughout the following volume, unless otherwise specified.
STATISTICAL ACCOUNT
THE DISTRICT OF GAYA.
THE District of Gaya forms the most southern portion of the Patna Division. It lies between 240 17' and 250 19' north latitude, and 840 04' and 86° 05' east longitude. It contains an area, according to the Boundary Commissioner in 1875, of 4712 square miles; in the Census Report of 1872, the area is given as 4718 square miles, but 6 square miles were transferred to Hazaribagh District in 1875. The population, as returned by the Census of 1872, is 1,949,750 souls. The chief town is Gaya; which adjoins, but is distinct from Sahibganj, the Civil Station and administrative
1 This Account of Gaya District is chiefly derived from the following sources :— (I) The Answers to the six Series of Questions, furnished by Mr V. Palmer, C.S. (1870-71), (countersigning the Answers drawn up by Mr Merring- ton, C.S., Joint-Magistrate and Deputy-Collector of the District). (2) Dr Martin's Edition of the Statistics of Behar and Shahabad, collected by Dr Buchanan- Hamil ton (circa 1 807), under the orders of the Supreme Government of India. (3) General A. Cunningham's Ancient Geography (London, 1871). (4) Report on the Bengal Census of 1872 by Mr H. Beverley, C.S., with subsequent District Compilation by Mr C. F. Magrath, C.S. (5) Papers and Reports furnished by the Board of Revenue. (6) Areas, Longitudes and Latitudes, furnished by the Surveyor-General. (7) Annual Administration Reports of the Government of Bengal, of the Commissioner of Patna Division, and of the several Officers of Gaya District. (8) Special statis tics compiled in the Offices of the Inspectors- General of Jails and the Director- General of Post-Offices. (9) Annual Reports by the Inspectors-General of Police and Jails, and the Director of Public Instruction. (10) Annual Reports on the Charitable Dispensaries of Bengal, (n) Annual Reports of the Meteoro logical Department. (12) Medical Returns furnished by Dr J. Russell, &c, &-c. I have also to thank Mr Chardon, of Sipah Indigo Factory, and many native gentlemen, for assistance in the work. VOL. XII. A 18 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT Of GAYA DISTRICT. head-quarters, situated on the Phalgii river, in north latitude 240 47', and east longitude 85° 03'. Boundaries. — The District is bounded on the north by Patna District ; on the east by Monghyr ; on the south and south-east by the Districts of Lohardaga and Hazaribagh ; and on the west by the river Sdn, which separates it from the District of Shahabad. Jurisdictions. — The Civil, Revenue, and Criminal jurisdictions are now conterminous with each other. The present District of Gaya was formed out of parts of the old Districts of Behar and Ramgarh in 1825. For judicial purposes, the District of Behar was always connected with Patna, while the re venue collections were directed either from Patnd or Benares. This subject will be treated of more fully under the heading "Administra tive History." In 1865, the Subdivision of Behar was transferred to Patna District ; six years later, the pargands of Japld and Bilonja were annexed to Lohardaga; and in 1875, an area of six square miles was added to Hazaribagh. The General Aspect of the District is a level plain, with a ridge of hills winding in a serpentine form along the southern boundary whence the country falls with a gentle slope towards the Ganges in the north. The surface is interrupted here and there with rocky hills, either isolated or in groups, which seldom exceed 1000 feet in height. They are composed of granular silicious homstone granites, mixed with white quartz and loose masses of iron-ores. The larger ones are covered with jungle and coarse grass ; the rest are rocky and bare. The eastern portion of the District, comprising chiefly the Sub division of Nawada, is highly cultivated, and extensively irrigated by artificial means ; the portion to the north and west is less fertile ; while the remainder of the District, including the southern part of Aurangabad Subdivision, consists of hills and jungles abound ing with wild animals. This part of the country used to be thinly peopled, and not much cultivated ; but of late years, much of the jungle has been cleared away, and the cultivated area is rapidly in creasing. The soil is generally alluvial. Towards the north and west it consisted of kewdl, a species of clay ; and about Sherghati it is sandy. To the east, between the Sdn and Piinpiin rivers, the soil is generally of a light nature, and very productive. The rivers all run from south to north. With the exception of the Sdn and Piinpiin, they are little better than hill torrents, being, as a rule, HILLS AND RIVERS. 19 fordable throughout the year. There are fine groves of trees in all parts of the District, especially between the S6n and the Punpun. Hills. — It has been already mentioned that isolated hills may be seen in most parts of the District The highest of these, called Miher, is situated about 1 2 miles to the south-east of Gaya town, and rises from a spreading plain to a height of 1620 feet above the sea. In the south of the Jahabanad Subdivision are the Barabar Hills, a remarkable cluster of rounded elevations, separated by various level passages. In the Bengal Atlas of Major Rennel this cluster is called the Currumshaw Hills. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton points out that this name is a corruption of Karnd c/iattpar, or Kami's seat, the name of an ancient ruin on these hills. There is another remarkable cluster or ridge of hills on the east side of the river Phalgii, which runs about west-south-west and east- north-east for a considerable way, forming part of the boundary between the Districts of Patna and Gaya. The chief archaeological interest attached to these hills centres round Rajgriha, which belongs more properly to the Patnd side, and is described in the Statistical Account of that District. But the southern part of this ridge, which lies within the District of Gayi, has many remarkable peaks, which are alluded to by Hiouen Thsang, the Chinese pilgrim who visited India in the seventh century of the Christian era. These spots have been identified by General Cunningham, who gives a most interesting account of them in his Ancient Geography. The pilgrim, on his way from Buddh Gaya to Rajgriha, mentions the hill of Kiu-kiu-cha-po-tho, the Chinese corruption of Kukkatapada, or Cock's Foot. It is identified by General Cunningham with the village of Kurkihar, which is 3 miles to the north-east of Wazlrganj. The true name of Kurkihar is said to be Kurakvihar, which is the Hindi form of the Sanskrit name Kukkatapada, or Cock's Foot temple. About 17 miles to the north-east of this is another hill, called by the pilgrim Fo-tho-fa-na, i.e., Buddhavana, which is probably the modern Bud- dhain. The only other remarkable ridge is the one which forms the southern boundary of the District. The summits are of no great height, but are prettily wooded, and full of game. It is in these hills that the rivers and streams which intersect the District take their rise. They may be considered as a part of the Vindhyan mountains, by which the great Gangetic plain is bounded on the south. Rivers — The S6n. — The principal river in the District is the Sdn, 20 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT.
which forms the boundary between the Districts of Gaya and Shdhdbad. It contains water at all seasons, and in every part of its course ; and its channel is, in general, almost equal in size to that of the Ganges. After heavy rains this channel is almost filled, and the rapidity of the current is such as is scarcely compatible with navigation up-stream ; but generally during the rainy season, boats of twenty tons burthen traverse the whole extent of this District, and small boats of under a ton can navigate throughout the year. At the village of Bariin, where the Grand Trunk Road cuts the S6n, the river is traversed by a cause way, which is under water during the rains. Just above this is the head of the S6n Canal works, which are now (1875) approaching com pletion. The general aspect of the river during the heats of the spring is desert ; and its eastern bank is in many parts overwhelmed with sandy barren downs, blown up from its channel. The bed is nowhere rocky, but with the golden coloured sand (from which the name is derived) are intermixed a variety of small pebbles, some of which are very ornamental. The stream is too deeply sunk in the channel to be of any use in irrigating the adjacent country ; but this defect will be more than remedied by the canal works when completed. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton thinks that " Patna may possibly have been once at the junction of the S6n with the Ganges, but there is no tradition among the natives concerning such a circumstance." This point has since been decided conclusively in the affirmative by Mr Ravenshaw and General Cunningham. Traces of old courses of the Son were also noticed by the officers engaged on the Patna Canal ; and one of these courses has been used in laying out the line of the canal. Mr Bourdillon, C.S., gives, as an additional proof, that the village Nadf, on the edge of one of these old channels, now some 10 miles from the nearest point of the Son, is mentioned in some ex ceedingly old and curious documents of the Dehli Empire as Nadi- ba-lab-i-darya Son — Nadi on the Son brink. Under the name of Erannoboas, this river is mentioned by Megasthenes, whose account has been preserved by Arrian, " as the third river throughout all India, and inferior to none but the Indus, and the Ganges into which it discharges its waters." Erannoboas was the Greek form of Hiran- yabdha, a name taken from the river's golden sands. Ferries across the S6n are situated opposite the following places : — Arwal, Daiidnagar Barun, and Akbarpur in the District of Shdhdbad. The PrJNPuN. — Eastwards from the S6n the next river is the RIVERS: THE PHALGU. 21
Piinpun, which rises in the extreme south of the District, and flows towards the Ganges in a north-easterly course, more or less parallel to that of the Sdn. During the driest part of the year there is always some stream ; and the water is mo6t extensively used by the adjacent villages for irrigation purposes. Small channels, called pdins, often continuing for a considerable distance, distribute the river water over the fields, or flow into large public reservoirs, dhdrs, where the water is stored until required by the cultivators. The Piinpun receives many small feeders on its right bank, of which the Batani and Madar are the chief. These streams dry up during the hot weather ; and even when full, the greater part of their water never reaches the Piinpiin, having been dispersed over the fields by artifi cial channels. Other tributaries of the Piinpiin do not join it in this District ; for example, the Murahar, which, coming from the south, flows northwards past the important towns of Sherghdtf (at one time the head-quarters of a Subdivision) and Tikarf, the capital of the Tikarf Raj. The river divides into two branches, of which the easternmost, called the Dardha, flows past Jahanabad, and during the rainy season floods a large tract of country round that place. Some high land to the north forces the excess of water to disperse itself over this part of the District. The next stream, the Jamna, flows from the south, between Gayd and Tikarf ; it then flows east, passes the Patna road at Makdumpur, and on beyond Tehta, when it twists back and joins the Dardha' at Jahanabad. The PHALcti, flowing north and south, intersects the District. It is formed a few miles above Gaya town by the union of two hill torrents, the Lilajan and Mohana, which both enter the District from the south. When the Phalgii reaches the high and rocky shores of Gaya, it is above 500 yards wide, and for the next half mile is remark able for its sanctity. During the hot weather it dries up, but water can always be obtained by digging a few feet below the surface. After leaving Gaya, the river runs in a north-easterly direction for about 17 miles. When opposite the Bardbar Hills it divides into two branches, which flow eventually into a branch of the Piinpun. The east of the District is drained by a number of small streams which all unite near Gfrfyak, at the eastern corner of Patna District. The more important of these are called the Dharhar, Donga, Tiliya, Dhanarjf, Shob, Kiisf, and Sakrf. They are very useful for irriga tion, but do not require any further description. Changes in the River Courses. — The changes in the course of 22 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF CAYA DISTRICT. the Son have been already mentioned. In the other streams, also, the changes have been frequent. The volume of water varies con tinually, and the system of irrigation practised by the cultivators all over the District is perpetually modifying the. river courses. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton mentions more than one instance where he was unable to find streams of the description given by Major Rennel ; and the last sixty years have rendered Major Rennel's survey still more incorrect. The Banks of the rivers are in general low and sloping ; the beds are of pure sand. Towards the hills the banks become more abrupt, and the beds are often rocky. The sudden rise and fall of these petty rivers is remarkable. A heavy downpour of rain will render a shallow stream unfordable in a few hours ; and, as a rule, no boats are attainable. The country people, however, provide a ready substi tute in the shape of a slight raft {gharndi), made of light bamboos floated on inverted earthenware pots (ghard). Such a raft, though flimsy in appearance, is strong enough to bear the weight of a pdlki ; and a man swims across the river with the tow-rope in his mouth. Lakes and Marshes. — Throughout the District there is nothing that can be called a lake, and the marshes, properly speaking, are of trifling extent. During the rains, however, much of the country is artificially converted into marsh land for rice cultivation. Canals. — Five years ago there were no canals in this District ; but now (1875) 't is traversed by two important lines, viz., the Eastern Main Canal and the Patna Canal. About half-a-mile south of the causeway which carries the Grand Trunk Road across the S6n, from Banln to Dfhri, two main canals branch off from either side of the river. They, with their branches, are destined to irrigate portions of Patnd, Gaya, and Shihabad Districts. All the information that could be collected about the S6n Canal works has been embodied in one account, which will be found in the Statistical Account of Shahabld District. Only a few points exclusively affecting the District of Gayi will be mentioned here. The Eastern Main Canal was originally designed to convey water for the irrigation of the whole area as far as Monghyr ; but the work has not been continued beyond the Piinpdn, a distance of 8 miles. To divert the water into this canal, an anicui, or weir, has been built across the river. Four miles from the Son the Patni Canal branches off from the Eastern Main Canal, and following, as far as possible, the direction of the Son, joins the Ganges near the jail at Dfgah, a RIVER TRAFFIC: FISHERIES. 23 village between Bankipur and Dinapur. This canal is 79 miles long, and commands an area of 780 square miles, or 499,200 acres. Of the whole length, 43 miles lie in this District, and the remaining 36 miles are in Patni. These canals will probably be in working order in 1876 or 1877. I mav add, that during the famine of 1873-74, these works not only gave employment to numbers of labourers, amounting at one time to over 40,000 persons, but the water which was passed through the unfinished channels irrigated nearly 160,000 acres, increasing the food supply by 70,000 tons. The Loss of Life by drowning was reported by the Police in 1868 at 116, in 1869 at 184, and in 1872 at 264; but the statistics under this head are notoriously untrustworthy. River Traffic. — There are no towns or villages in this District the population of which live exclusively by river traffic. What traffic there is is confined to the Sdn, on which the two chief towns are Diudnagar and Arwal. From both of these places country produce is sent down the river. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton mentions that some timber and bamboos were floated down in rafts, but that far the greater part of the exports and imports, even in the vicinity of the Sdn, were effected by land carriage. Uses to which the Water is put. — As has been already men tioned, the water of the rivers in this District is extensively used for irrigation. Except in the west, where the ground is literally per forated with wells, the whole face of the country is intersected with watercourses (pdins), which distribute the rivers over the fields. Besides these channels, the rivers are often dammed, and the whole country flooded, for the sake of the rice cultivation. The river water is also stored in old reservoirs (dhars) ; when required, a breach is made in the bank, and the water subdivided among the villages. Fisheries. — The fisheries in this District are unimportant, and are not preserved, except to some extent by the Gayd Munici pality. The Census of 1872 returns the number of men employed in fishing at 1070, or about '05 per cent of the population. The truth is, that there are none who live only by fishing ; while all the low castes catch fish at certain seasons for their own consumption. There are plenty of fish in the Sdn ; but very few are caught, for in the rainy season the stream is too violent, and in the dry season the water is in general so shallow and clear, that .the simple and imper fect means used by the native fishermen are quite useless. The Collector estimates that about fifty-three tons of fish are caught 24 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. every year throughout the District, of which perhaps one-third are ob tained at Gayd town. In the other rivers of the District, numbers of small fish are caught when the water subsides. So also in the tanks, and even in the rice-fields which have been artificially flooded. It is not easy to account for the swarms of little fish which are found on these fields in August. Some, of course, find their way from the rivers during the rains, through the rills and artificial watercourses ; but these means seem inadequate to account for the numbers of fish that appear. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton thought that the greater part are bred from eggs, that remain dry in the soil until hatched by the heat and moisture of the rainy season. The following nets are used for catching the fish in the river : — (1) Mahdn jdl, a large hempen net, with i|-inch mesh, which employs twenty men. (2) Jdl, a casting-net, with A-inch mesh. This is used by one man, who whirls it over his head, and covers a circle of from 10 to 12 yards of water. It is then sunk by the weight of iron rings attached to the extremities. (3) Dondi is a net for two persons, and is worked with a bamboo pole at each end. (4) Sarkd is a small- meshed string net, and is used by a single man. Besides these nets, fish are also caught by a hook and line, but more frequently in narrow channels by a trap called arsi. This is a sort of cage made of chiselled bamboos, which is placed across a stream when the cur rent is weak. All the water passes through the slits, and the cage is so formed that the fish, once in, cannot get out again. There are other traps, named okd and tap, which are used in the puddled water of the reservoirs. The following list ot fish caught in the Son is taken from a report by Mr Bourdillon, C.S., Assistant-Magistrate : — Class A., having apparent scales — (1) Giistd, grows to 80 lbs. (2) liohu, 40 lbs. (3) Bhdkura, 24 lbs. (4) Mai, 24 lbs. (5) Ndgai, 12 lbs. (6) Hilsd, 6 lbs. (7) Palhwd, 2 lbs. (8) Rewd, 2 lbs. (9) Buld, very small. (10) Chdud, very small, (11) Pothld, very small. (12) Jingwd (prawn). Class B., having no apparent scales — (13) Bodri, grows to 40 lbs. (14) Tingra, 12 lbs. (15) Bolakhra, 4 lbs. (16) Bdmi, 4 lbs. (17) Sdmd, 1 lb. (18) Bachd, 1 lb. (19) Gari, 1 lb. (20) Arudri. Of these, the smaller fish are also caught in the other rivers. Mr Bourdillon has omitted to mention two large fish, the mirgd and the gagrd, and also the following little fishes, which may be caught in most of the smaller rivers— mohud, inchd, darari, papla, patdsi, MINERAL PRODUCTS. 25 karunidn, said, sanur, mangri, goincha, /dot. I may add that plenty of small fish, and occasionally a large one, can be easily caught in the Gayi Municipal tanks with a rod and line. November and December, when the reservoirs begin to dry, are the months in which the larger fish are generally caught; and the supply continues pretty copious until February. Lines of Drainage. — The drainage of the District runs invari ably from south to north, from the Hazaribagh plateau to the Ganges valley. Its sweep is marked, not by J Ails or marshes, but by the broad sandy beds of the hill torrents. In the south, the drainage at first falls abruptly from the boundary range ; afterwards, the slope is very gradual, being about six feet per mile up to twenty miles north of Gayi town, and thence only two feet per mile to the Ganges. About Jahdnabad the land is slightly depressed ; and during the floods, the Jamna inundates a large tract of country at its junction with the Dhardhd. The extreme south-west of the District is drained by the S6n through the KoeL Mineral Products. — The following paragraphs are chiefly con densed from the elaborate account given by Dr Buchanan-Hamil ton : — The southern range of hills is composed of igneous rocks. The prevailing minerals vary in their proportion; but generally speaking, these hills contain quartz, red white and granular jasper, hornblende, and mica. In the neighbourhood of Rajaulf, a village in the south-east of the District, there are mines of mica, which were worked at the beginning of the present century, when Dr Buchanan- Hamilton visited them. He had great difficulty in even finding them, as the miners, who were all aborigines, suspected his motives, and threw every obstacle in the way of collecting information. He describes, however, three mines from which the mica was obtained, but to what extent he could not discover. Up to the present day that part of the District is but little known to Europeans. No doubt mica does come from this neighbourhood ; but Mr Beames, the subdivi- sional officer of Nawddi, is of opinion that the mica in this District is not now worked, more profitable mines having been found within the confines of the adjoining District of Hazaribagh. The Com missioner of Patni, in his Annual Report for the year 1874-75, says, "There is a talc (query, mica) mine near Rajaulf, the mine itself being in Hazaribagh District; but 5000 mans (about 170 tons) of talc, valued at .£2500, are annually brought to Rajaulf and there distributed. Iron also is found in Pachamba, in the south-east of 26 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT.
Nawidi Subdivision, in a village called Dhanear, in lumps on the sur face of the earth or at a very slight depth below the surface. About 100 mans (3 \ tons), valued at .£20, is worked yearly. The metal is found mixed with earth, from which it is freed by boiling. It is then worked up by the people, and manufactured into rude imple ments of agriculture." The long cluster of hills commencing near Buddh Gayi, which forms eventually the boundary between the Districts of Gayi and Patni, is also igneous. The south of the range consists of rude jasper, red and white, while further north there is an admixture of quartz. There are no mines in any of these hills. The third great cluster of minerals among the Baribir Hills consists chiefly of granite, without any vestige of stratification. This stone is quarried by the poorest classes for mending the Patni and Gayi road. Iron ore is found in small masses lying loose at the bottom of some of these hills. The southern part of this group towards Gayi is famous for a quarry of black pot- stone ; this is polished and carved into vases and figures of animals, which form one of the spicialites of the District. The ornamental pebbles which are found in the bed of the Son have been already mentioned. Calcareous nodules are found near the banks of the rivers; and the saline efflorescence, from which saltpetre is manufactured, is common in many villages. Forest and Jungle Products. — Valuable trees are rare in Gayi ; even bamboos, which are so common in North Behar, being seldom seen. Jungles occupy the south and south-eastern parts of the District. Mr Beames, Deputy Collector, has sent me the follow ing list of forest trees, shrubs, and creepers which are to be found in the Nawidi Subdivision : — Forest Trees: (1) Anthal; (2) Asan (Terminalia tomentosa) ; (3) Arjun (Pentaptera arjuna) ; (4) Amti (Embelia basaal) ; (5) Balaundan ; (6) Bheld (Semecarpus anacardium) ; (7) Babul (Acacia Arabica); (8) Bhurkundi ; (9) Chaillar; (10) Datrang (Ehretia laevis) ; (11) Dhudhuki; (12) Dilantin (Grewia tiliae- folia); (13) Ditori ; (14) Gulgal '; (15) Giiriydl (Bauhinia race- mosa) ; (16) Gadah-p'tpal (Ficus religiosa) ; (17) Gambli&r (Gmelina arborea); (18) Ghdnt (Rhamnus triquetrus) ; (19) Gurkhandi ; (20) Ghaiul (Zizyphus xylopyra) ; (21) G/iiii; (22) Gen id ; (23) Jogiydpdras; (24) Ki'cndr ; (25) Kandd (Flacourtia ramontchi) ; (26) Karliar ; (27) Kanair ; (28) Khayer (Mimosa rubicaulis) ; (29) Kahud (Terminalia arjuna); (30) Masundah; (31) Man JUNGLE PRODUCTS. 27
iargur ; (32) Madhilat (Briedelia stipularis) ; (33) Mundr ; (34) Mohndr; (35) Parmi ; (36) Pandan; (37) Paisdr ; (38) Pipul (Chavica Roxburghii) ; (39) Paror (Stereospermum suaveolens) ; (40) Pards (Butea frondosa) ; (41) Sakhud ; (42) Dhdmin (Grewia elastica); (43) Sdl (Shorea robusta); (44) Sansdr ; (45) Simul (Bombax malabaricum) ; (46) Sin's (Albizzia odoratissima) ; (47) Sidah (Lagerstraemia parviflora); (48) Sal sal ; (49) Surah; (50) Sagarlodhi ; (51) Sikllh ; (52) Tun (Cedrela toona) ; (53) Tet- bhdni. Shrubs and Creepers: (1) Alghoghi ; (2) Agar; (3) Chdnp ; (4) Dhodhari ; (5) Jhingd ; (6) Khira ; (7) Kakri (Capparis spinosa) ; (8) Kadu ; (9) Kharbuzah ; (10) Karaila ; (11) Konhra ; (12) Patdl konhrd; (13) Palwal ; (14) Paror; (15) Sfr" (Euphor bia nivulia) ; (16) Satdwar ; (17) Saim ; (18) Satputia ; (19)
The Collector, Mr Palmer, reports that " / Tblx. Satvxm. — Tigers are found among the southern hill ranges ; leopards and bears in most ports of the District. Antelope and pig are common everywhere, while spotted deer, sdmbhar, and nilgai, are to be shot in the south of the District. Hyaenas abound, and their cries may be beard at night even in the town of Gayd. Wolves are very troublesome, and, in spite of the reward offered for their destruction, manage to escape. Deaths from wolves occur daily in the Nawadd Subdivision. The luhiya, or wild dog. has been seen in the south. Foxes, hares, and other small animals, are plentiful. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton mentions that wild elephants used to come into the District from the south ; but even in his time their incursions were very rare. Of smaller game, wild duck, teal, quail, snipe, and partridge are common ; while jungle-fowl and peafowl are found in the south. In 1869, 137 deaths from wild animals were reported during the first ten months to the Police ; whereas in the Nawa dd. Subdivision alone, 186 deaths from wild animals were reported in the year '873-74. For the first ten months of 1869, 151 deaths from snake bite in the whole District were reported by the Police; while for the year 1873-74, 322 deaths by snake-bite were recorded in the single Subdivision of Nawadd. Such extreme divergencies throw considerable doubt on these statistics. Early Estimates of the Population. — The District of Behar was surveyed in 181 2 by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton, under the direc tions issued by Government on 4th September 1807. The District was at that time divided into twelve police circles; and Dr B. Hamilton calculated the population of each circle, as far as can be judged, with surprising accuracy, considering that no regular census was taken. He estimated the area at 4935 square miles, and the population at 2,755,150 persons, of whom 2,030,991 were Hindus, and 724,159 Muhammadans. The survey of Gayd District (1841-44) gave an area of 5689 square miles, in which were found 203,312 houses. Since that time, how ever, two pargands, comprising 653 square miles, have been trans ferred to the Paldmau Subdivision of Lohdrdaga ; and the Subdivision of Behar, containing 792 square miles, to Patna District. This reduces the area to 4654 square miles. In the Statistics for 1869 issued by the Board of Revenue, the area of the District is said to be 5496 square miles ; the population is estimated at 1,470,096; the number of villages at 8526, and the CENSUS OF 1872. 29 number of houses at 259,411, of which 12,655 were made of masonry. Of the total population, 627,024 were males, and 540,091 females; 201,974 were male children under twelve years of age, and 100,957 female children. The police circle of Jahandbad was selected by Mr Adam for his statistical inquiries about the year 1837. He found that it contained 803 villages, and 14,953 families, comprising 81,480 souls. Accord ing to the recent. Census of 1872, it contains 784 villages, 41,227 houses, and 254,553 inhabitants. Census of 1872. — The Census for Gaya, as indeed for all Dis tricts in the Patnd Division, was taken under very favourable circumstances. The office of patwdri, which has almost entirely disappeared in Bengal, still exists in Behar, and supplied the machinery for collecting the requisite information. The mode in which this machinery was prepared for use is explained in the Census Report of 1872. The first step was the preparation or correction of the patwdri registers, which had been allowed to fall into disuse since 1830. At the same time, a corrected list of villages in the District was prepared, and tested by the subdivisional officers. The patwdris were then summoned to head-quarters, furnished with forms, and their duties explained to them. At this juncture the project of a General Census was postponed by the Government of India, but the Commissioner of Patnd would not interrupt the work. Consequently, there was a preliminary Census for all Districts in the Patnd Division. When fresh orders were received from Government in June 1871, the patwdris were recalled to head quarters, and a second enumeration of the population was re commenced, and carried through. The advantage of this double Census is thus noticed by the Collector of Gayd : — " It enabled me to obtain a Census Return prepared with deliberation, which consequently became a useful check on the regular Census ; and it enabled the enumerators and the people to become familiar with the novelty, and acquire a knowledge of what was required. The preliminary returns were scrutinised, and errors and omissions pointed out to the individual patwdris, and then rectified by them. I am satisfied that had not this course been adopted, it would have been almost impossible to have taken an approximately correct Cen sus, in one day, of the illiterate masses of which the population of this District is chiefly composed. To the people themselves it was a great boon. It gave them time to make inquiries, ask questions, 30 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. and such like, and thereby greatly facilitated the taking of the regu lar Census." The general results of the Census disclosed a total population of 1,949,750 souls, inhabiting 327,845 houses ; the average density of the population being 413 to the square mile. The density is greatest in the central police circles of Jahandbdd, Tikdrf, Gayd, and Nawddd, which have a population of 500 or 600 to the square mile ; while the parts along the banks of the Si5n, and the southern frontier of the District are comparatively thinly inhabited. The table on the opposite page shows the area and population of each police circle and Subdivision in the District, as returned in the Census Report of 1872, from which it is quoted verbatim. The sub- divisional figures will be given again on a subsequent page, when I come to treat of the administrative divisions of the District ; but they may be here exhibited as a whole. I may also add that in the Nawddd Subdivision there are now three police circles, instead of the two given in the table. Population Classified according to Sex, Religion, and Age. — The total population of the District amounts to 1,949,750, viz., 954,129 males and 995,621 females ; the proportion of males to the total population being 48.9 per cent. Classified according to age, the Census returns give the following results : — Hindus under twelve years of age — males 307,341, females 283,035 ; above twelve years, males 545,965, females 593,558. Muhammadans under twelve years — males 37,159, females 33,666 ; above twelve years, males 63,394, females 85,113. Christians under twelve years — males 25, females 33 ; above twelve years, males 90, females 55. Other denominations not classified separately, under twelve years — males 51, females 26 ; above twelve years, males 104, females 135. Total of all classes — under twelve years, males 344,576, females 316,760 ; above twelve years, males 609,553 i females 678,861. As in many other Districts of Lower Bengal, the cause of the small proportion of girls to boys, and of the excessive proportion of adult females to adult males, may be ascribed to the fact that in Bengal girls are considered to attain womanhood at an earlier age than boys reach manhood. Many girls are returned as women, while males of the same age continue to be classed as boys. Infirmities. — The number of insanes in the District is returned at 231, or .0118 per cent. of the total population ; idiots, at 70, or "0036 [Sentenct rontinued on ptige 32.] CENSUS OF 1872. 31 *v t^vp np |" . vp N 1/ 1 rO ?t t ■) N ■) N 8 vo r^vo ^- ri OQC ■* -iJ- *^r^ »■1 m- vO f s *- .-.*£! av in in ^ 00 T 1- «~ .? 0 JITi M 3 S.S.& ■i ^ <3 tn in r< r^00 C N vO N ^ ro o\ O C cjj *■ vOW "■. - NrOh- -f . - 00 N r* 1 N OvrOsC « 00 oc N Ov 1 « m ti 1 ro W N « « .*^ * N M ill a T2 l« O O U st« in m M r^ v-. vc t- m CO vO C ^ Ov !? 00 vp t*- ro p y 1 ? ?p 1 CO m r^u 1 rn %\ h p r° i Hi m M « m * i" is h -i M M 1- m M " - •< >V >ssr si . i-.. mmm C 0 r^.vc M O rOC ■* ON" h vo r*i *. w £■3 C7v in n * * k-t N ij ■i to 1 •* ■ 10 nto ^ to in r J 'vt ^i P* « 0. N N rO N •- 0 to r- * O r-^ r^ c ^J- vO O d rOvo 00 vn *; (• r^ uivC •^■00 r* vO r 1 Ov vn _ 0 N 1 vO d.3 vOm ov ~ oo^vc CM N N■<*- vD ■*f 0 tnC c N C*^ tov£ Ov r^ vo" n*vo in r- Ov ThO *r r-C * : J Ov§• 5| I--.. mOO t^vc in vno s in 00 ~ C N ON vnoc C* n i~ r* « CO N tO rO I ON 2. (" 3 N TfO 0« 1- r^ t- -i*• vO ^ O Ov 0« 00 tn Ov « i"^ r— u i O N vC av ■*^-c v■) 00 r^ H . 1 vo Tf OO i^lNvO - LTi « r ■i*- m rn r* 0 c IN ON OO 00 r^.vo n a — u 1 v0 mo r ^ ro 00 T ■ N r*- ij ^- N M -. « ; s ■*- vn m m - vO v*i - fr* r• 21 to u s 4 9i ■? O O « ** r* i r^ N ro 1^0 t- * 00 N £ ■) N ■*- vn 0 5s-5 f io 00 C N '§ 00 0 1* ■v t> ■i 13 m £ = »o ■ NO *-s M N ON" »--. C in 3 tf M" NO is 5 S £ ■) O rO N N N T f ro vq r* N r--. r* * vO vr1 . 1 O 00 S3 vO CO vn r-oc in *- rs O *«fv0 r* *i -J- t N 3.-= ■^ m rn m tv » rO Ct in N O r* 1 N 1 o. r^ < J S"B ■# ^ •^j •^ ■^.. V ■5 ■S *g 1 •a 5 a 0 8 H .•% s h .5 ■J 0 0. * 1 s ■t- i JC 0 .1^ ■r .s r H 1 •r c 1 *t •i3 C "73 c "5 5 3 22 Q 1 3 3 8 I Q M q" - .-1 0 ■i: *< y. Q 1 •5 i< CO c » 2 3 -1 a? < ^, 3a STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF CAVA DISTRICT. [Sentence continued from page 30.] per cent, of the total population ; deaf and dumb, at 2425, or "124 per cent, of the total population ; blind, at 3882, or nearly -2 per cent, of the total population ; lepers, at 19 12, or nearly t per cent, of the total population. Of the total number affected with the fore going infirmities, less than one-third, or only 2836, were females. The proportion of the male infirm to the total male population is -595 per cent, and of the female infirm to the total female population -285 cent. The details of the population according to their occupations, given in the District Census Compilation, are omitted, as they do not stand the test of statistical criticism. Ethnical Division of the People. — The following details are taken from the District Census Compilation of Mr Magrath, CS. : — Name of Nationality, Tribe, or Bin and Bind, 358 Caste. Chain, 19 Chamar, 70,937 I. — Non- Asiatics. Dom, 7,627 European. Dosadh, 92,929 English, .... 36 Gangaunta, . 46 Irish, 23 Labana, 32 Scotch, .... 17 Mihtar, &c, 1,246 German .... 26 Mukerf, IOI Musahar, 60,895 Total, . 102 Pasi, . 34,050 Raj war, 39.484 II. — Mixed Races. Eurasian, . . ... 19 Total, 403,243 III. — Asiatics. 3- — Hindus. Natives of India and British Burma A. (i.) — Superior Cast ES. I. — Aboriginal Tribes. Brahman, . . 6,5301 Bhar 28 Rajput, 102,918 Dhangar, .... 35 Ghatwal 3,054 Kanjar, .... S3 1 Kharwar, .... 3,538 Total, «7',273 Kol, 22 Mai 215 (ii.)— Inte rmediate C ISTES. Nat 1,513 Babhan, 140,244 Bhat, . . 4,763 Total, . 5.S82 Kathak, '73 Kayasth, 40,211 2. — Scmi-Hinduiscd Aboriginals. Krishnapachhi, I I Arakh and Bahelia, . . 3,492 Ban 1,361 Total, 185,402 Bhuniya, .... 90,666 ETHNICAL DIVISION OF THE PEOPLE. ii (in.) -Trading Castes. (viii.) — Artisan Castes. Agarwald, 2.472 Barhi (carpenter), . . 35,701 Agrahri, 223 Bhaskar (stone-cutter), . 9 Baniya, 19,989 Chipi (cotton-printer), . 40 Buna war, 3,753 Churihara (bracelet-maker), 26 Gulwara, 45 Daref (tailor), ... 3 Kasarwani, 2,336 Kansari and Thathera (brazier), 4,768 Khatri, 850 Kumar (potter), . . . 25,868 Mahuri, 8.552 Laheri (lac-worker), . . 2,651 Marwari, no Lobar (blacksmith) . . 17,216 Nauniyar, 3,i°i Sonar (goldsmith), . . 16,258 Nichodiya, 332 Siinri (distiller), . . . 9,246 Rastogi, 7 Tell (oilman), . . . 50,701 Raunfyar, i,073 Sarawak, 93 Total, . 162,487 Sindiiriya, 1,558 (ix.) — Weaver Castes. Total, 44,544 Benaudiya .... 2 (iv.)— Pastoral Castes. Dhuniya 1 1 Jogi 2,041 Gareri, . .' . 14,381 Joldha, .... 144 Goald, . . .278,665 Khatbe 24 J*' 73 Patua, .... 3,440 Total, 293,' 19 Tantf, .... 6,894 Tattama, .... 1,791 (v.) — Castes engaged in treparing Cooked Food. Total, 14,347 Halwai, .... 11,818 Kandii, .... 22,753 (x.) — Labouring Castes. Beldar 16,285 Total, 34,571 Kakkhiya, .... 56 Nuniya, .... 14,916 (vi.) — Agricultural Castes. Barui and Tambuli, . 8,141 Total, 31,257 Koeri, .... 131,930 Kurmi, .... 40,826 (xi.) — Castes engaged in Selling Mali 8,577 Fish and Vegetables. Kiwani, .... 930 Total, 189,474 Khatik, .... 537 (vii.) — Castes engaged chiefly in Kunjra, .... 68 Personal Service. Turdlia, .... 589 Dhanuk, 5.487 Total, 2,124 Dhobi, 17,954 Hajjam, 37,190 (xii.) — Boating and Fishing Kabar, 106,788 Castes. Total, 167,419 Dhimar, 242 Gonrhi, 4'5 VOL. XII. 33 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. {Sentence continued from page 30.] per cent of the total population ; deaf and dumb, at 2425, or "124 per cent, of the total population ; blind, at 3882, or nearly -2 per cent, of the total population ; lepers, at 191 2, or nearly *i per cent, of the total population. Of the total number affected with the fore going infirmities, less than one-third, or only 2836, were females. The proportion of the male infirm to the total male population is -595 per cent, and of the female infirm to the total female population -285 cent. The details of the population according to their occupations, given in the District Census Compilation, are omitted, as they do not stand the test of statistical criticism. Ethnical Division of the People. — The following details are taken from the District Census Compilation of Mr Magrath, C.S. : — Name of Natiqnality, Tribe, or Bin and Bind, 35S Caste. Chain, 19 Chamar, 7o,937 I. — Non- Asiatics. Dom, 7,627 European. Dosadh, 92,929 English, 36 Gangauntd, 46 Irish, . 23 Labana, 32 Scotch, 17 Mihtar, &c, 1,246 German 26 Mukeri, 101 Musahar, 6o,8y5 Total, Pasl, . 34,050 Raj war, 39.484 II. — Mixed Races. Eurasian, 19 Total, 403,243 III. — Asiatics. 3. — Hindus. Natives of India and British Burma A. (i.) — SurERioR Castes. -Abor igtna, Tribes. Brahman, .... 6,5301 Bliar, . 28 Rajput 102,918 Dhangar, 35 Ghatwal .... 3,054 Kanjar, S3' Kharwar, 3,538 Total, 171,273 Kol, . 22 Mai, . 215 (>>.)- -Intermediate Cas I'ES. Nat, . I.5I3 Babhan, 140,244 Bliat, . 4,763 5,882 Total, Kathak, 173 Kayasth, 40,211 2. — Semi-Hinduised Aboriginals. Krishnar achhi II Arakh and Bahelia, . . 3.492 Bari 1.3°' Total, 185,402 Bhuniya 90,666 Hi ■; vx. Gil-^za. ?-.-- r- . — X; Oarr-, Oca. J- 31.-- ji —r-^ -^ >_i In ^ . 3i_=?5 Bare lad ~s-n."-r; - * z^z T .rrr . — _r^- Krrrz. . . _ 12- -T= Ksrsc .... A^t^i .=. — Z^^~l; 13-t.f.tx: :y ??--,-*; Mii, ..... I5 — T_£Z j^~ Vi^-irw — _ ~ I- £-"»i3i- - - . ??? .r.,-Cua,B-aa:sDU3 ^ ^ - - - :* L'iosxi, .... 5j.§r Taal. . s.ia» I : • "'- .... IT-vJt "i--£3*' - ~ - • ^ vi. 1 — r»: 1— n r- axi> Fishing K*^r, . . .axr* Cutis. t-l. i:l \ 34 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. Kent, .... 293 4 — Persons of Hindu origin not 11,518 recognising Caste. Naiya, .... 64 Aghori, .... 65 Tior . .... 162 Alith, 1,141 Vaishnav, Total, 12,694 '.395 Kabirpantlii, S Nanakshahi, 419 (xiii.) — Dancer, Musician, Bi ggar, Saniyasi 1,842 and Vagabond Castks. Sutrashahi, 2 Dharhi 59 Native Christians, 82 Gandharb, .... 15 Total, Galgaliya, .... 108 4.954 Jagwa 114 Khelta 4' 5. — Mukammadans Pawariya 858 Mughul, .... 80S Kamjani, .... 5i Pathan, .... 18,350 Sayyid, .... 9,852 Total, 1,246 Shaikh 37,3iS Unspecified, 153,004 (xiv.) — Pe*sons enumerated n Nationality only. Total, 219.332 Panjabi, .... 20 Total ofNativf.sof India 1,949,629 (xv.) — Persons of Unknown or Total of Asiatics, . 1,949,629 Unspecified Caste, 6,231 G*and Total of Hindus, 1,3 16,218 G*and Total, i.949,75o The Hill Tribes and Aborigines live chiefly in the south of the District, supporting themselves from the produce of the jungles. Some few labour in the fields, and occasionally receive small patches of ground to cultivate from the petty landholders ; for the most part they subsist by thieving, cattle-lifting, and hunting. Immigration and Emigration. — The S6n Canal works have attracted a few labourers from Benares and Chutid Nagpur ; but generally speaking, the District of Gayd is far too poor to tempt immi grants. Even the few Santals, who sometimes make their appear ance in the east of the District, never settle down permanently. With regard to emigration, it seems to be impossible to obtain any trust worthy statistics. Emigrants, as a rule, avoid the District Registra tion Office, or try to mislead by giving their names at Patnd or some other office. This distrust of the motives of Government is one of the characteristics of the people in Behar. The common belief with regard to emigration is, that if their names are entered, they will be seized during the journey, and sold for slaves. The HIXDU CASTES: BRAHMASS. 35 District Returns for the three years 1871-72, 1872-73, and 1874- 75, give the numbers of emigrants at 570, 734, and 709 ; hut these figures do not show the real numbers who leave this District, either temporarily or for ever. It is well known that numbers of men of good caste seek service in Lower Bengal ; but these are not emi grants proper, for as soon as they have saved enough money, they return to their houses. It is noteworthy that, during the late famine, there was no appreciable increase in the number of registered emi grants. Hindu Castes. — The legendary origin of castes has been given in the Statistical Account of the Twenty-four Parganis (voL i. pp. 52, 53). With regard to this District, it must be remembered that the limits of Gayi are modem and artificial. It is not separated from the adjoining Districts by any remarkable natural barriers ; in climate, language, and nationality it has long been intimately associ ated with the Districts of Patna and Shdhabad. We must expect to find the same castes, the same ancient institutions, and the same religious beliefs obtaining in all these three tracts. It would be giving an undue prominence to petty differences to attempt a sepa rate account of the castes of each District I have, therefore, inserted in the Statistical Account of Patna District a general account of the Hindu castes of Southern Behar; and, on the present occasion, I will only dwell on those which are specially remarkable in this District. In the absence of previous statistics it is impossible to state how far castes are declining. There certainly is a tendency among cer tain classes to give up caste prejudices, at least in private. The richer natives, while keeping up an open observance of the rules of their order, secretly embrace various forms of Theism. Others openly violate some recognised rule, and turn Musalman. The poorer classes, who are far less bound by the trammels of caste, do not hesitate to follow any popular religious leader. Among the middle classes there is still much respect paid to caste. In fact, caste is to them a sign of respectability ; only the very wealthy dare to override the prejudices of their fellows. Brahmans. — The Census Report of 1872 returns the Brahman population at 65,301 ; but these figures include a number of persons who differ from the regular or orthodox Brahmans, and yet are allowed a kind of brevet rank as such. Of these, the most remarkable are the Gayiwdls, whose origin is thus given in the " Memorandum on the 36 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. Tribes and Castes of Behar," by Mr C. F. Magrath, attached to the Census Report : — " The Gayils, or Ga} avals, affect to be descended from fourteen Brdhmans, who were created by Brahma at the time when he tricked Gayd (a respectable pagan monster of great sanctity, whose only fault was that he would save sinners from perdition) into lying down for a feast to be held on his body ; and having done so, he placed a large stone on him to keep him there. Gayi, however, struggled so violently that it was necessary, when force failed, to persuade him to be quiet; which was done by a promise being made that the gods would take up their abode on him permanently, anil that any one who made a pilgrimage to the spot, and performed certain ceremonies on him, should be saved from the penalties of the Hindu place of torment The sacrifice performed now is generally a vicarious one for the souls of ancestors, but it is not the less pro fitable to the Gayawals on that account Although the Gayawals are treated with great consideration at the place of pilgrimage, the respectable lirdhmans hold them by no means high in the scale of caste. The mahant, or head of the Gayawils, is elected on the death of the previous incumbent, and is supposed to be celibate. The numerous descendants of mahants, past and present, prove that they do not lead a life of chastity, at any rate ; and the Gayawals gene rally are a dissolute race. Up to a very recent date, they used to practise the most open extortion ; and now, though proceeding with less violence, I fancy they are hardly less successful than formerly in squeezing the last pice out of the hapless pilgrim. They are very rich, and generally very bad landlords, and are often able to evade the penalties of their crimes through the sanctity which attaches to their position." Dr Buchanan-Hamilton records that they are divided into fourteen families (gotras), which bear the same names with, but are distinct from, the fourteen gotras of the Sakadwfpfs. In his time they numbered about iooo families. Formerly the number was 1 400 ; but at the present date it is reduced to about 300 families. The following circumstance is the best proof of their wealth. During the years 1870-71 and 1871-72, they paid, without much complaint, a surprisingly high tax on their incomes. The sums obtained from this District, which, though large, is notorious for the general poverty of its inhabitants, exceeded those of every other District with the exception of the still larger District of Tirhut, and the city of Cal cutta. Some peculiarities in the marriage ceremonies of the Gaya wals will be described on a subsequent page. < SEMI-HhXDUISED ABORIGINALS. 37 Closely connected with the Gayiwils, both in origin and manner of life, but inferior to thein in position and sanctity, come the Dhimins, or Pretiya Brahmans, who are supposed to be a colony from purgatory, brought up by the god of the infernal regions to aid in the conflict with Gayi. Their head-quarters are at Pretsfla, or the abode of ghosts, a hill about four miles from Gayi town, which is regularly visited by all the pilgrims, who make their offerings there to these priests. One-fourth of what they receive goes to the Gayiwils. Numbers of them attend the pilgrims in Gayi itself, and perform subordinate offices for the Gayiwils, who, as a rule, refuse to per form any religious ceremony except that of receiving fees. The KuRMfs are returned at 40,826. They are generally known as cultivators ; but in this District a great number act as servants to the Gayiwils, either at a fixed salary or at a percentage on the number of pilgrims they can attract to the holy city. Engaged in this work, these pilgrim-seekers may be found all over India ; and some of the richer Gayawils are said to have more than a thousand men in their pay. The Kurmis are subdivided into four classes — Awadhyi, Ghamaila, Kochasa, and Jaswar. Of these, the Jaswar are most numerous in Gayi District Muhammadan Classes. — Mr Magrath ranks as Muhammadans the following classes: — Jiillhi, or weaver; Dhuniyi, or cotton- carder ; Dhobf, or washerman ; Gadhf, or cowkeeper ; Darzf, or tailor; Kiinjri, or greengrocer; Kalal, or distiller; Chik, or Kassaf, butcher; Mirshikar, or hunter; Muchi, or shoemaker; Nilband, or farrier ; Tawaif, or prostitute ; and Lalbegf, or sweeper. In addition to these low-caste Muhammadans, Dr Buchanan-Hamilton enumer ates several other classes, which I have inserted in the Statistical Account of Patni District. Semi-Hinduised Aboriginals. — Of these tribes the Musihars, numbering 60,895, an^ tne Rajwirs, numbering 39,484, deserve a more special notice. The following account is taken from the infor mation collected by Bibu Bimola Churn, the subdivisional officer of Behar, which was inserted in the Administration Report of the Com missioner of Patni Division for the year 1872-73: — " Both these tribes trace their descent from Tulsl Bir and Kamma Mamma. These were divine persons, born in the hills of Maher, in the District of Gayi. They had two sons, by name Madhu Mfr and Raghu Bfr. The Musihars are the sons of the former, and the Rijwirs of the latter. What caused a separation between them is not 38 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF CAVA DISTRICT. known, but now they do not touch each others' food. Other Mrs (heroes) sprang up from each branch of the family and multiplied the race. Tulsf Bir and Kamma Mamma are still worshipped by them, and are said to assist their descendants in every difficulty. Before they go out on their thievish excursions, they generally adore their first parents. There are priests among them who invoke the spirits of Tulsf Bir and Kamma Mamma; and when inspired by them, they are considered living oracles. Many intelligent and rich zamindars send for these priests, and make them invoke these spirits, and thus tell them the results of any of their undertakings; and suitors frequently offer vows of pigs to these gods for winning their cases. The Raj wars and Musihars have, besides, each separate gods of their own. The Rajwars worship Dak, Gorea, Goraia Devi, and other deities ; while the Musihars worship Mashan, Dak, and a number of other petty gods. These gods are very fond of pork, which is offered to them whenever there is a marriage-ceremony. Dak and Mashan are now considered to be the most powerful of gods. The emblem of the former is three mounds of earth, with their faces turned towards the east ; on the mounds seven spots, like eyes, are marked with vermilion. Pure milk is poured on these, and incense of dhuna and other fragrant articles are burnt before them every day. The Rajwars and Musi- hars are very fond of living on hills, where the founders of their family were bom. Kamma Mamma and Tulsi Bfr are said to be still very fond of their descendants. It is often the case that young girls are taken away by them, and kept under their immediate pro tection in the grottoes haunted by their spirits. In after years they are restored to their families, and are considered to be holy by their relatives. This intimate relationship with the spirits of the gods makes the Rajwars and Musihars indifferent to danger. It is a part of their firm belief that their patron spirit is sure to deliver them from every difficulty. Living by theft is considered an honourable profes sion. However well off in worldly circumstances, they never hesitate to take their neighbour's property, when they can do so easily. These men are employed as badhwdras for watching crops, watercourses, or granaries. They make it a stipulation that they will not steal their employer's property, or allow anybody else to do so ; but that they shall have full permission to steal the property of the neigh bours. They have chiefs among them, who harbour the less-ex- ]«rienced members of the fraternity." RELIGIOUS DIVISIONS OF THE PEOPLE. 39 Religious Divisions of the People. — Gaya District contains Hindus, Muhammadans, Christians, Jains, and a variety of petty sects, but the Hindus form by far the largest section of the popula tion. As already stated, the total population of the District amounts to 1,949,750; viz., 954,129 males and 995,6(21 females. Of these, 1,729,899, or 853,306 males and 876,593 females, are Hindus ; the ratio of Hindus to the total population being 887, and of Hindu males to the Hindu population, 49-3 per cent. The Muhammadans number 219,332; via, 100,553 males and 118,779 females; the proportion of Muhammadans to the total population being 11 "3 per cent., and of Muhammadan males to the total Muhammadan popu lation, 45 8 per cent. The Christians number 203 ; viz., 115 males and 88 females. The avowed followers of the Brdhma Samaj and the Jains are so few, that in the Census Report they are not classified separately, but are included under the heading of " Others." They consist of 316- souls; viz., 1-55 males and 161 females. It must be remembered that the avowed members only of each sect or persuasion are recorded. The secret increase of different forms of Theism in. the Districts of South Behar is well known; but I was unable to gain any definite information on this point. Hindus. — These form the great majority of the population, especi ally in the Subdivision of JahdndMd, where they number more than 90 percent. of the total population. If we may trust Dr Buchanan- Hamilton, the ratio of Hindus to Muhammadans has been consider ably changed during the last sixty years. According to him, the Hin dus formed only about 73 per cent. of the total population ; while the figures in the Census Report for the same area give a proportion of 87-5 per cent. There is no record of any remarkable diminution in the number of Musalmdns during the last sixty years. On the con trary, the common belief is that their numbers are slowly increasing. It is not improbable that Dr Buchanan-Hamilton included among the Muhammadans several low Hindu castes, whose religious practices are very irregular. The varieties of Hindu worshippers and their manner of prayer, &c., are treated at some length by Dr Buchanan- Hamilton. He divides the orthodox Hindus in the following pro portions : — Sivas, three-sixteenths ; Vaishnavs, two-sixteenths ; Sak- tas, five-sixteenths ; and Ndnaks six-sixteenths. An abstract of his remarks will be found in the Statistical Account of Patna District. Of the Sects not recognising Caste, native Christians are returned at 82, of whom the majority are the disciples of the mis 4o STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. sionary at Gayd. Aghorf, returned as numbering 65, are a disgusting set of mendicants, who reside chiefly at Buniyddganj. They have fallen completely from their former high estate. Aghor, which sig nifies " the Not-Terrible One," an euphemistic term like the Greek Eumenides, is a title of Siva. A full account of the original sect, which is similar to the Majzubs among Muhammadans, may be found in the writings of the Shaktas. Several great men have been Aghorfs. One of these, Kfndrdn, who preached at Zamania in Ghdzfpur District early in the eighteenth century, was generally followed by the Aghorfs of Gayd. Atfth, returned at 1141, are, according to Mr Magrath, a portion of the sect of Sivites called Dusnamf Dandfs, who have not resigned the world ; but all kinds of beggars are frequently included under this name. Vaishnav, returned at 1395, is said by Mr Magrath to be a generic name for a number of Vishnuvite sects; but Mr Verner explains that where Vaishnavs are spoken of as a sect, they are synonymous with Bairdgfs, and are followers of Rdmdnand. Kabfr-punthi, returned at 8 ; but their real numbers are in excess of this. The present fol lowers of Kabfr have no good left in them, according to Mr Magrath ; but this statement needs qualification. Many Kabfrs are men of good family, and profess a very pure form of Theism. Nanakshdhi, or the followers of Ndnak Shdh, the founder of the Sikh religion, returned at 419. This refers only to the celibates, who have with drawn themselves from the world and wear yellow shirts. A great proportion of the population who follow the creed of Ndnak also call themselves NanakshdTifs. Sutrashdhf, returned at 2, are a degraded class of Ndnakshdhfs. Saniydsf, followers of Siva, are returned at 1842. Their chief apostle is Sankar Achdrjya. The preceding names comprise all that are mentioned in the Census as not recognising caste ; but the following forms of Theism also obtain in Gayd District : — Dariyaddsis are a section of Kabfrs of recent origin. Their founder was, according to Mr Magrath, a Musalmdn tailor who had become partially a Hindu. Shiunarainis are mentioned by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton, who found them inclined to be mysterious ; but their present high priest, an overseer in the Public Works Department, makes no secret of their tenets and manner of worship. Satndmf, or followers of truth, are not very numerous here. They may be distinguished by a black thread bound round the wrist. POPULATION IN TOWN AND COUNTRY. 41 The members of the Brahma Samaj are only fifteen in number, of whom all are Bengalfs; but I am told that many Beharfs are secretly sympathising with the movement. The Jains have a temple at Gaya, and another at Nawddd ; but I could form no estimate of their numbers. Ruins of Jaina temples are common all over the District, testifying to their former ascendency. Division of the People into Town and Country. — Gayd is essentially a rural District. The great majority of the population are engaged in agriculture ; and in most parts of the District grain, and not money, is the real circulating medium. Village officials, such as the carpenter, blacksmith, barber, washerman, and patwdri, &c., are generally paid in kind at a fixed rate. The tenant usually pays a moiety of his crops to the landlord in lieu of a money rent. Every householder has his grain store, by which in times of plenty he procures his luxuries, or averts famine after an unfavourable season. Commerce with other Districts is rare. Manufactures of any import ance do not exist. The old carpet, paper, and sugar manufactories have dwindled away; and agriculture is the one and prevailing occupation of all classes. Of late years, indeed, a tendency has been developed towards town-life. Some of the richer landholders, who resided formerly on their country estates, now live at Gaya, where there are better opportunities for display. House-rent is rising steadily ; and the late improvements in the means of communication will naturally induce the trading classes to settle in the larger towns. The Census returned seven towns containing more than 5000 in habitants, viz. : Gaya, including Sdhibganj, Jahdndbad, Ddiidnagar, Tikdrf, Sherghatf, Hasiia, and Rajaulf. Of these, Gayd and Daud- nagar are the chief seats of commerce. The following table, condensed from the District Census Com pilation of Mr Magrath, presents an abstract of the statistics obtain able for these seven towns. Some further details will be given in the separate account of each town. 42 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. Statistics of Towns in GayA District containing more than 5000 Inhabitants. c Municipal Gro*s 0 - 1 a Expenditure. .0 5*T3 3 C ■r i r. il H " Names of E Total. S3 Lx Towns. Hindus. ■ ° u. ■ C * a 3 2"" 2 0 £ £ «. rf. £ '■ d. d. Gaya . . 52,265 14.444 134 66,843 2716 2 0 2351 IO O 93 Jahanabad 12,413 8,609 21,022 75 0 ° 8l 18 O 1 Daiidnagar 7.973 2,084 1 10,058 206 14 0 237 O O 5 Tikarf . . 6,092 2,075 I I 8,178 180 10 0 '149 16 O 51 Sherglidti 4.459 2.553 21 7,033 150 10 0 134 O O 51 Ilasua . . 4.963 1,088 6S 6,119 120 4 0 85 16 O 4? RdjauK . 4.'7' 841 5,012 57 4 0 75 4 0 23 1 Total . 92,336 31.694 156 79 124,265 3506 4 0 , 3115 40 !43 Gaya is situated in latitude 240 47' 15", and longitude 850 3' 10". The number of houses in Gayd and Sahibganj was estimated by Mr Law at 6000. Buchanan-Hamilton (dr. 1810) says that 400 had been added since. According to the Census of 1872, the total population is 66,843 » 0I* whom 52,265, or 25,913 males and 26,352 females, are Hindus; 14,444, or 7°82 males and 7362 females, are Muhammadans; and 134, or 76 males and 58 females, are Christians. The gross municipal income in 1871 was ^2716, 2S. ; the expenditure for the same year was ^2351, 10s. ; and the rate of municipal taxation was 9fd. per head of the population. The police force consists of 1 inspector, 1 sub-inspector, 2 head constables, and 16 constables. The sacred origin of the town has been already mentioned. It consists of two distinct parts, which adjoin each other. The part which contains the residence of the priests is properly called Gayd. The other part, where lawyers and tradesmen reside, was formerly called Ildhdbdd ; but having been enlarged and ornamented by Mr Law, who was Collector towards the close of the past century, it is now called Sdhibganj. This latter place is the seat TOUWS: CAY A. 43 of the administration : and here the civil offices, and also die resi dences of the European inhabitants, are situated. The old town of Gaya stands on a rocky eminence between a hill and the Phalgti river; Sahibganj is on a plain on the bank of the Philgii, south from a hill named Ramsila. The intervening space which formerly existed between the two places has been occupied by houses, and the two towns now adjoin. The streets in Sahibganj are wide, and kept in good order ; bat the buildings occupied by the natives are generally insignificant. Two gates, like triumphal arches, probably set up by Mr Law, are standing at the two ends of one of the streets. The official buildings, consisting of the criminal and civil courts, the jail, the hospital, the circuit bungalow, the police lines, and the opium warehouse, are all situated in the same neighbourhood. The European residences, which are apart from the native houses, partly surround an open space, on which is built a small but pretty church. The town possesses a public library, a swimming-bath, and a billiard- room. There is also a racecourse, but owing to the hardness of the ground, it is seldom used. The jail is a large one, in the middle of the town. In 1872, it was stigmatised by the Inspector-General of Jails as the worst in Bengal, both in point of situation and ventilation. A new jail is to be constructed on a better plan, and in a more favour able situation. The church is capable of containing about fifty persons. There is no chaplain attached to the station ; but a clergyman from Hazaribigh visits the place six times a year. The native Christians are collected in a private house by a missionary, but their numbers are inconsiderable. The public library is contained in a square yellow building, composed of a peculiar cement, invented by Mr Sandys of Bhagalpur. The swimming- bath is of the rudest construction, covered in by thatch. It is little used, as the well-water from which it is replenished is said to cause cutaneous disorders. The building in which the billiard-table is placed has been lately erected. There are two graveyards ; the new one is placed outside the town ; the old one, which is kept in very bad order, faces the river to the north of Sahibganj. Near the old graveyard is the chief place of worship among the Muham- madans, called the Imambard. About 20,000 people, of whom many are Hindus, assemble here on the day of the Karbala to commemorate the grandsons of the prophet The old town of Gaya is well described by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton 44 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. as a strange-looking place. The buildings are of brick and stone, often two or three stories high. The walls are of great thickness, indicating that the houses were constructed in lawless times, with a view to repel attack. The architecture is very singular— corners, turrets, and galleries project with every possible irregularity. This style of building, and the elevated situation, renders a distant view of the town picturesque; but a nearer approach fills the visitor with disgust. The streets are narrow, crooked, uneven, and, in spite of municipal efforts, generally dirty. Some are roughly paved, and frequent steps debar all but foot-passengers from seeing much of the place. The sides of the houses are often ornamented with carved wooden galleries, or gaudily painted caricatures of gods, men, and animals. The narrow streets are still further blocked by sheds and booths, kept by petty traders. Fine wide tanks give the visitor occasional opportunities for getting a general view. In spite of the sanctity of Gayd, the town was frequently attacked by the Marhattds, but invariably without success. The strong-built houses, with their small windows, protected by projecting angles, formed a continuous barrier; while the entrances were defended by fourteen companies of the priests, aided by many of the powerful landowners who had sought refuge within the walls. GayA Pilgrimages. — The legend, which has been already quoted (p. 36), from which Gayd derives its sanctity, is contained in the Gayd Mahatma, which is part of the Purdnd called Vayu, supposed to have been written by Vyds. But Gayd, as a place of worship, was in comparative obscurity until about five or six centuries ago. Since that time, the number of pilgrims from all parts of India has been steadily increasing. Superstition was soon made a source of income to every landholder and petty officer of Government. Custom-houses were set up along the roads to Gayd, and fees extorted from every passer-by, in proportion to his means. This abuse was eventually abolished by Mr Law, who having ascertained that four sorts of pilgrimages were usually performed, fixed a cer tain sum to be paid for a licence for each. These fees used to vary from 4s. 2id. to 28s. 3|d., according as the pilgrim intended to visit from one to forty-five of the sacred places. The average number of licences granted annually from 1797 to 1811 was 22,199. All these licences are now abolished ; and there are at present no means by which the annual number of pilgrims who visit Gayd can be accurately estimated. Dr Buchanan Hamilton, writing in 1811, GAY A PILGRIMAGES. 45 supposed that the number of pilgrims and their attendants, in ordinary years, was not less than 100,000; and he considered that in certain years, when influential Mahrattis came in force, this estimate might be doubled. Now that all licence fees are abolished, the numbers, probably, have not diminished ; but the only test that I could obtain was the monthly record kept by the Department of Public Works of the travellers on the Patnsi branch road. In 187 1, the average number of foot-passengers who passed the toll near Jahandbdd was, up to the end of August, under 9000 a month; but during September over 77,000 persons passed through, and in the next month the number fell again to 20,000. This sudden increase can only be ascribed to the pilgrims who pass to and from Bankipur and Gayd. We may say, then, that at least between 30,000 and 40,000 pilgrims come by this route to Gayd in the month of September. Large numbers also come by the Grand Trunk Road, but no record is kept of the traffic. The stream of pilgrims only rushes with its full force for a short period, but it never dries up entirely throughout the year ; and Dr B. Hamilton's estimate of 100,000 a year may be taken as still approxi mately correct It is noticeable that the majority of pilgrims come from a distance. The natives of Behar crowd more readily to other sacred haunts — numbers go every year to Rijgriha, and to Baid- nath (in Santalia), and other places ; but far the most fashionable pilgrimage is to Sonpur, at the junction of the Ganges and the Gandak. A pilgrim to Gayd sets out for the purpose of freeing his deceased relations from purgatory, and procuring their admission to heaven. Before starting, he shaves his head and face, makes presents to the Brahmans, and then walks round his village five times, calling upon the souls of his relations to accompany him to Gay£ Upon reach ing that place, he puts himself in communication with one of the Gayawals, who appoints a Brahman to accompany him through the orthodox course of his devotions. There are four classes of pilgrims ; one class visits only one sacred spot, another visits two, a third class goes to thirty-eight, and the fourth to the full number of forty- five. These sacred spots, which are called bedi or tirat, must be visited in the proper order, and on particular days. At each bedi the pilgrim should deposit a.pinda — i.e., a small ball of rice and water — for each of his deceased relations, while the attendant Brdhman chants a short prayer. It will be convenient to follow a pilgrim as he visits each of these forty-five sacred places in their due order, describ 46 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. ing them as we go along. I have thought it better to confine my remarks to those places which are now reckoned sacred by the Gayiwdls, omitting all mention of the numerous temples and images which have been erected in later times near each bedi, either to mark the piety of some wealthy pilgrim, or as an excuse for Brdhmanical extortion ; and which are despised by the Gayawals as the works of human hands. On the first day the pilgrim begins with the river PhdlgiL The offering can be made at any convenient spot of the river-bed, where it passes the city ; for all the river is equally holy, from Brahma Sarwar to Utarmanus, a distance of about half-a-mile. On the second day, the pilgrim must go five miles out of the city to Pretsfla or the Ghost Hill, which rises to a height of more than one thousand feet above the level of the sea. Four hundred rocky steps must be climbed to reach the temple on the summit, which originally was only a roof supported on pillars, each consisting of a single stone. The offerings are deposited on a certain stone, which is said to con tain three minute veins of gold. The pilgrim then descends to Brahmakund (Brahma's tank), at the bottom of the hill. Here there is a shrine containing an image representing Parvatf. After leaving his offering at this tank, the pilgrim returns to Gayi. Just before entering the city he must ascend another hill called Rdmsila. This is much lower than Pretsila, but the temple on the summit is similarly reached by rude steps. It consists of a pillared porch (ndt mandir) and a shrine, containing images of Mahadeo and Parvati. At the foot of this hill, across the Patnd branch road, is Ramkund, a fair-sized tank, where the fourth offering has to be made. The pilgrim now follows the road into the city along the river bank ; and after passing the old English cemetery and the Musalmin Imim- bdrd, comes to a bir tree, under which is a conical stone represent ing a lingd about two feet high. Here the fifth and last offering of the second day is made. On the third day, also, five places have to be visited, but these are all within the confines of the city. The first is Utarmanus, a large stone tank divided from the public street by a wall. The next three places, Udlchf, Dachinmanus, and Kanakhal, are in different corners of another tank, called Siirjydkund. Udfchf is marked by a small black stone slab, let into the wall at the north west corner of this tank ; Dachinmanus by a similar slab, at the south-west comer. Between the two lies Kanakhal, where, besides the stone slab, there is a bir tree, and a few figures let into the wall. GAYA PILGRIMAGES. 47 Leaving the tank, the pilgrim proceeds eastwards till he finds him self facing the river. The space where the offerings must be made is an oblong open towards the river, but surrounded on the other three sides by a colonnade. The name is Jibyalol. The fourth day is another wearisome round for the pilgrim. He must go beyond Buddh Gaya, and cross the river to Martange and Dhar- maran, two places of no particular interest. The third offering must be deposited under the famous fig-tree at Buddh Gaya. On re-entering the city, two more offerings complete the day's work. Brahma Sarwar, a tank sacred to Brahma, contains a black stone called Brahma's Throne. Close to the tank is Karg-bal-Utarafn, an ugly square brick building. Here is an inner room surrounded by cloisters ; and in the centre of all is a square hole about five feet deep, into which offerings are thrown in honour of the ghosts of a dog, a crow, and a certain demon. The pilgrim begins the fifth day with the famous temple of Vishnupad. The porch in front is a very neat, airy work, and from outside looks singularly graceful. It is, in fact, the only sacred edifice in Gayd. with any pretensions to beauty. Inside is hung a bell which the pious are constantly ringing. The clanging of this bell, the cries of the different priests, and the prayers of the worshippers (for the vicinity is crowded with sacred spots and temples) make a deafening noise. The porch leads into the shrine, an ugly octagonal building, probably one hundred feet high, with many mouldings exceedingly clumsy. The threshold is guarded by high folding doors, plated with silver. Beyond this, a European may not go ; but a fair view of the interior, which is lighted by candles, can be obtained. In the centre is an octagonal basin coated with silver, which surrounds the impress in stone of the god's foot, said to be sixteen inches in length. The pilgrims surround the basin and throw in their offerings of rice and water ; the most regular attendant is a large brown cow, which eats up the offerings as fast as they are thrown. After leaving the shrine, the pilgrim crosses the porch into a small covered area, where eighteen sacred spots are crowded together. Priests and disciples all talking and praying at once, fill this place. Each bedi, sacred to some one's foot, is distinguished by a rude inscription bearing its name. Two only of these eighteen spots, Brahmapad and Rridrapad, are attended on this day. The remaining sixteen bedis occupy the next four days. Their names are Sabhagpad, Saptyigpad, Dachinaginpad, Garhastpad, Kirtikpad, Indrapad, Surjpad, Dadfjpad, Ganeshpad, Chandra 46 STATISTICAL ACC I v/unncz ing them as we go along. I have iJBtMi H remarks to those places which ■■ crosses ~—t Gaydwils, omitting all mention a _ m opr«>:-_- ii — which have been erected in XL. :>jd:5S :"i-i. sr- the piety of some wealthy pilgr r. tk spice ia ■ zr- extortion ; and which are desp ihfeapaia ::~ i human hands. fating. OntfeOBe On the first day the pilgrim "r —res-ion appear a ':< _: offering can be made at any a bjBtsl feneration, tmf- it passes the city ; for all I « ie n*r*le, the pip» Sarwar to Utarmanus, a - _c--.!. in r ::: second day, the pilgrim : ■ salmples near the or the Ghost Hill, which m. i x snare building feet above the level of th x. land the walls climbed to reach the te: Gori &c. only a roof supported 01. iarGm'sWelL The offerings are deposi: rcer,and tain three minute veins of Brahmakund (Brahma's mike wall is a shrine containing an atSfc Eoond his offering at this tank. entering the city he mu;. is much lower than P similarly reached by ru<;< (ndt mandir) and a shrine. At the foot of this hill, ai a fair-sized tank, where pilgrim now follows the M after passing the old 1 bdrd, comes to a Mr tree, ing a lingd about two fee the second day is made, be visited, but these are - -. "- r:) is Utarminus, a large a wall. The next tl - are in different cc is marked by a s- west comer of r-**1 ..temtgal south-west i^«flBthele;t the stone - 9 m THE GAYAWALS. 49 JX2- ilar manner. The next place is again remark- ifiguration of the natural rock, which is here number of small holes. These cavities are mrc loof- prints of a cow which Brahma gave the •j the place is called GoparchaY. Both Bhfm rchar are enclosed by ugly brick buildings. The an oblong colonnade at the foot of the hill, •. The forty-five places having now been visited, ■b .. \pects his dismissal, and proceeds to Achnaibat H_^ ible banian or bir), a raised stone terrace, from the fc h grow two very aged trees. The one is a fig-tree 1^ trunk, which is filled with images ; and the other a L^ :s are surrounded with images and lingds. Here the ^ e to be paid to the Gayawdls; who place flowers ;rim's neck, and after all their claims have been fully iss him with a pat on the head, and the words Gayd " Gayd yields good fruit." He is now free of the lie Brihman who has conducted him all through the V nd who has daily received small fees, must have his last is taken to Gaitrfghat, a place on the river-bank, where fee is taken, and he can then return home with the ;s that his pilgrimage has been performed in the ortho- The fees paid vary, of course, with the wealth of the lie grandfather of Nina Sihib is said to have expended primage jQ 10,000 in fees alone. This is probably the int ever given ; but it is not easy to ascertain the lowest ing which a poor pilgrim could complete the orthodox yet satisfy all demands. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton states y lowest person performing his devotions at one place can- less than 7s.; that those who worship at two places cannot than i os. ; that the lowest rate of expense at thirty-eight £3, and at forty-five places, £4. The priests naturally ;t nowadays no pressure is put on the pilgrims whatever, ch man gives what is good in his own eyes. Now that 10 licence-fees, a poor man might, I believe, visit all the -escribed places, and yet limit his expenses in fees to £,2 ; \ Gaydwdls would get £\, ros., the Dhamins at Pretsila, remaining 6s. would cover all fees, including that of the .0 accompanied him. 4wAls. — The number of Gayiwils does not now exceed 1. c 48 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. pad, Mdrtangpad, Karndpad, Karonchpad, Agastpad, Vahdnipad, and Kdsibpad. On the tenth day the pilgrim crosses the river Phdlgu to Rdm-Gayd, a small wooded hill just opposite the city. A few rough steps bring him to a square, roofless space, sur rounded by brick cells containing images. In this space lies a cir cular stone, about three feet in diameter, with the impression of a foot supposed to be Brahma's, about two feet long. On this stone the pilgrims place their offerings. The impression appears to be of no great age, and is not looked upon with special veneration. Any where near the bottom of the hill, on the river-side, the pilgrim makes a second offering. This bedi is named Sftakund, in honour of Rdmd's wife. On the eleventh day two small temples near the river-bank are visited. The former, Gayd Sfr, a square building half-roofed over, contains an image of Gayd Sfr. Round the walls are other images representing Brahma, Lachhman, Gori, &c. Within a few paces of Gayd Sir is Gayd Kub or Gayd's Well. This is a square place containing a large well, covered over, and apparently without water. Round the walls are painted images clothed in bright-coloured rags. On one side, a recess in the wall is sacred to three ghosts — Rdm Sfr, Tdm Sir, and Sdt Sfr. Round this recess are hung hundreds of lac bracelets, withered garlands, and little boxes containing cheap ornaments, such as the poorer class of women are in the habit of wearing. On the twelfth day there are five places to be visited. All are on a low hill in the city, near the river. The first place, Munparishta, is a small temple with a pillared porch, named after the goddess, whose image, painted red and clothed in rags, may be seen within the shrine. By its side is another image sacred to Ashtabhiijf, the Eight -handed One. Ad Gayd, the next place, is a very small square building with a brick roof, supported on curiously-carved stone pillars. It is said that this is the original spot where all offerings were formerly made. The third place is Dhot-pad, sacred to the foot of Dhot, an ancient sage ; but the rock, which is enclosed by a brick building, has no impression of a foot, or indeed of anything else. On the thirteenth day the pilgrim completes the orthodox round, by visiting the last three of the necessary forty-five bcdis. These are all placed contiguous to each other on another low hill. The first, Bhim Gayd, is a curious cavity in the rock, which seems to be natural. The pilgrims throw their offerings into this hole, kneeling on the left knee ; for the cavity is supposed to have been made by a saint THE GAYAWALS. 49 kneeling in a similar manner. The next place is again remark able for the configuration of the natural rock, which is here indented with a number of small holes. These cavities are said to be the hoof- prints of a cow which Brahma gave the Gayawals ; hence the place is called Goparchir. Both Bhfm Gayd and Goparchar are enclosed by ugly brick buildings. The last place is an oblong colonnade at the foot of the hill, called Guddalol. The forty-five places having now been visited, the pilgrim expects his dismissal, and proceeds to Achnaibat (the indestructible banian or bir), a raised stone terrace, from the centre of which grow two very aged trees. The one is a fig-tree with a hollow trunk, which is filled with images ; and the other a bir, whose roots are surrounded with images and lingo's. Here the final fees have to be paid to the Gayiwais ; who place flowers round the pilgrim's neck, and after all their claims have been fully satisfied, dismiss him with a pat on the head, and the words Gayd suphal — i.e., " Gayd yields good fruit" He is now free of the priests ; but the Brihman who has conducted him all through the pilgrimage, and who has daily received small fees, must have his last mite. So he is taken to Gaitrfghat, a place on the river-bank, where the very last fee is taken, and he can then return home with the consciousness that his pilgrimage has been performed in the ortho dox manner. The fees paid vary, of course, with the wealth of the pilgrim. The grandfather of Nana Sihib is said to have expended on one pilgrimage ^10,000 in fees alone. This is probably the largest amount ever given ; but it is not easy to ascertain the lowest sum by paying which a poor pilgrim could complete the orthodox round, and yet satisfy all demands. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton states that the very lowest person performing his devotions at one place can not spend less than 7s.; that those who worship at two places cannot spend less than 10s. ; that the lowest rate of expense at thirty-eight places is £$, and at forty-five places, £4. The priests naturally pretend that nowadays no pressure is put on the pilgrims whatever, and that each man gives what is good in his own eyes. Now that there are no licence-fees, a poor man might, I believe, visit all the forty-five prescribed places, and yet limit his expenses in fees to £,2 ; of which the Gayiwals would get jQi, ios., the Dhamins at Pretsila, 4s., and the remaining 6s. would cover all fees, including that of the Brahman who accompanied him. The GayawAls. — The number of Gayiwals does not now exceed VOL. XII. c SO STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. 300 families. Some of these families have large incomes, exceed ing ^5000 per annum, and keep up agents all over India to induce the pious to take pilgrimages to Gayd. Even the poorest, who live by begging at the temples, keep at least two or three ser vants. Their manner of life is idle and dissolute. They pass little of their time at home, but spend most of the day and night at their clubs (baithaks). From his earliest infancy, a Gaydwdl is taken to these clubs. At a very early age he is taught to chew betel, and smoke gdnjd and bhdng. He attends all the dances and spectacles in which his elders delight, and as a rule no effort is made to give him any other education. Very few ever learn how to read or write Hindi ; and of the whole number, only three boys attend the Government school at Gayd. A Gaydwdl rises generally at seven or eight A.M., and then goes over to the club, where he drinks, and exercises his body in wrestling, &c. (kushti). Between one and two p.m. he bathes, and then goes home for dinner. After which he returns to the club, and probably remains there all night, the servants bringing him his supper. In the evening there are generally ballets (ndcft) or some similar amusement. Should there be any pilgrims to attend to, the Gaydwdl will appoint a place where they may have the honour of worshipping his feet. The female relations of the Gaydwdls spend their lives thus. Their mornings are passed in preparing betel for chewing, and in arranging the house hold furniture. The cooking is left to the care of Marhatta women, who are found in great numbers in Gayd. In the evenings they walk in the streets or visit their friends, accompanied by half a dozen ser vants, male and female. A description of the extravagant ceremonies at a Gaydwdl wedding is given subsequently (pp. 77, 78). The other towns and villages in Gayd District have been grouped under their respective Subdivisions. . SADR, OR HEAD-QUARTERS SUBDIVISION. There are two towns in this Subdivision, besides Gayd, which have a population exceeding 5000 persons. TucAid, situated on the river Miirhar, about 1 5 miles to the north west of Gayd, in 240 56' 38" N. latitude, and 840 52' 53" E. longitude. According to the Census Report, Tikarf contains a population of 8 1 78 persons; of whom 6092, or 3126 males and 2966 females, are Hin dus ; 2075, or 947 males and 1 1 28 females, are Muhammadans ; and TOWNS: TIKARI. 51 1 1 are of other denominations. The gross municipal income for the year 1871 was ^180, 10s. ; and the expenditure for the same period, j£149, r6s. ; the rate of municipal taxation being 5^d. per head of the population. The local police consists of 1 sub-inspector, 1 head- constable, and 12 constables. The chief interest attaching to this town centres round the fort or castle of the Rdjds of Tikdrf, which has a good earthen rampart, with bastions fit for guns, and a large wet ditch. Although now rather neglected, it might easily be put in complete order; and formerly it resisted many attacks. The Rdjds of Tikarf rose into importance after the invasion of Nddir Shdh, and the dis memberment of the Mughul Government. Their earliest known ancestor, Dhir Sinh, a small landowner, was the father of Sundra Sinh, the first member of the family who obtained the title of Rajd. He gained this rank through the active support which he gave to Alf Vardf Khdn, the subahddr of Bengal and Behar, in re sisting the devastations of the Marhattas, and afterwards in putting down a dangerous rebellion in the city of Patnd. As the new Rdjd was as unscrupulous as he was bold, he soon found means to increase the family property, and obtained possession of pargands Okrf, San- wat, Ekil, Bhildwar, Dakhnair, Angti, and Pahara, with parts of Amrathu and Maner, besides several other estates in various parts of Behar and Rdmgarh. He was finally assassinated by the captain of his guard. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton asserts that Sundra Sinh left three sons — Buniad, Fatch, and Nehdl, of whom the first succeeded as Rdjd. But the three brothers were really nephews to Sundar, who adopted Buniad as his son. Buniad seems to have been a quiet man, and wrote to the English promising obedience ; but this letter is said to have fallen into the hands of Kasim Alf, who summoned the Rajd to Patnd, and put him and his brothers to death. Shortly before this event, Buniad's wife had been delivered of a son, named Mitrajft. Kasim Alf, hearing of this, sent a party to kill the infant ; but the mother, having intelligence of their approach, concealed her child in a basket of dried cow-dung, and sent him in charge of a poor old woman to Dalfl Sinh, her husband's chief officer, who kept him in safety till after the battle of Baxdr. Mitrajft Sinh lived always on good terms with the English. Under the administration of Shitab Rai, he was deprived of nearly all his possessions ; but these were afterwards restored, when Mr Law was Collector of Behar. His right also to the title of Maharajd was recognised by the English. 52 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. On his death in 1840, the estate was divided between his two sons, Hitnarayan and Madnarayan Sinh, the former getting nine-sixteenths, and the latter seven-sixteenths of the property. Hitnarayan re ceived the sanad in 1845 by Lord Hardinge. Both brothers died without issue. Hitnarayan was succeeded by his wife, Indrajft Kunr, who, in 1862 (by authority of her husband's letter, dated in 1859), publicly adopted her nephew, Bdbu Ram Narayan Krishna Sinh, son of Babu Kailas Pati Sinh, a respectable landowner of Saran District. The next of kin to the late Rajd, who were all descendants of Nihdl Sinh, brother to Buniad Sinh, withdrew in writing all claims to the property for themselves and their successors. In 1870, the nephew's name was entered in the register without opposition, as owner of the estate vice the Maharanf. In 1873, ne was wade Maharajd, receiv ing a presentation dress (khilat) worth about ^350 ; and in the fol lowing year he was exempted from attendance at the Civil Courts. He died in 1875, leaving by will the whole property to his only daughter. The rental of the estate is estimated at ^46.826, 10s., and the Government revenue is ^19,250. The smaller property inherited by Madnarayan Sinh, who also died without issue, was left between his two wives, Ranf Asmedh Kdnr and Rani Sonft Kunr. The latter adopted her nephew, Pratap Nardyan Sinh, who is said to be entitled to the whole of his father's property ; but the other wife has also adopted an heir, who claims his mother's share. This point has not yet been finally decided. The following account of Rajd Mitrajft's estate, given by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton, is of special interest, as it tends to show that the practice of paying rent in kind, which is still common all over the District, was not long ago almost universal. " Perhaps fifteen out of sixteen of all the RajA's estates are let by an actual division of the crop, without employing people to value it ; so that leases are of little value, as they extend only to that which pays a money rent, and this is generally confined to a small space round each village that is watered from wells. The leases that have been granted have never been renewed, and most have been addressed to some chief tenant, with an ' &c.' for the others. As it would be impossible for the Rdjd to superintend such a collection without suffering the most enormous losses, he has farmed out the greater part of his rents, and this has given rise to considerable complaints of oppression ; nor is the cultivation on his estates so good as might have been expected from the money he has expended in constructing reservoirs, canals, TOWNS: SHERGHATI. 53 and roads. Had his estates been let for a money rent, they might, with his prudence, have been managed entirely by his stewards without loss, and the tenants would have had no cause for complaint, while the rent would have been a stimulus to industry ; nor is there the smallest reason to think that the Raja is in the least inclined to oppress his own tenants." The road from Gayd to Tikarf is metalled for a distance of about ten miles. Beyond the River Murahar there is an embanked road, but the bridges are in bad order, and not safe for carriages. SherghAtf, formerly the head-quarters of a Subdivision of the same name, is situated at the point where the Grand Trunk Road crosses the Murahar, in N. latitude 240 33' 24", and E. longitude 840 50' 28". The total population, according to the Census of 1872, is 7033 ; of whom 4459, or 2043 males and 2416 females, are Hindus ; 2533, or 1045 males and 1508 females, are Muhammadans ; and a i, or 14 males and 7 females, are Christians. The gross municipal income for the year 187 r was ^150, 10s. ; the expenditure for the same period, ^134; and the rate of municipal taxation, fivepence per head of the population. The local police consists of 1 inspector, 1 sub- inspector, 2 head - constables, 16 constables, and 1 sawdr or mounted constable. Before the East Indian Railway was extended to Patna, the position of this town on the Grand Trunk Road rendered it a very important place. The remains of the European residences, and the number of monuments in the graveyard, afford proofs of this. There are still to be found here the descendants of skilled artisans, workers in brass, wood, and iron; but the town is now retrograding. The Subdivision was broken up in 187 1, and with the exception of an occasional sub ordinate in the Public Works Department, there are now no European residents. When this town formed part of the District of Ramgarh, it was a centre of crime, which led to the appointment of a special Joint-Magistrate in 1814. Of the smaller villages or townships in this Subdivision, the most interesting is Buddh GayA or Bodh Gaya, situated about six miles to the south of Gayd, a few hundred yards west of the river Phdlgii or Nildjan. The ruins at this place are, perhaps, the most famous in the world ; for it is acknowledged to have been the dwelling-place of Sakya Sinha, the founder of the Buddhist religion, who flourished in the sixth century before the Christian era. Ac cording to General Cunningham, Buddha had ascended a mountain 54 STATISTICAL ACCOLWT OF GAY A DISTRICT. to the south-east of Gayi, called Pragbodhi, for the purpose of dwell ing in silent solitude on its summit ; but being disturbed by the tremblings caused by the fright of the god of the mountain, he descended on the south-west side, and went two and a half miles to the pipdl (or fig) tree at Buddh Gaya. Midway in the descent there was a cave, where Buddha rested with his legs crossed. This cave is mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hian (see Beal's Fa Wan, chapter xxxi.) Under the fig-tree the sage sat in mental abstraction for five years, until he obtained Buddha-hood. This celebrated Bodhi drum, or Tree of Wisdom, still exists, but it is very much decayed. Just to the east is a massive brick temple, 50 feet square at the base and 160 feet high, which is the Vihdrseen by Hiouen Thsang, another famous Chinese pilgrim, in the seventh century after Christ. The ruins, which are extensive, have been described by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton. They consist of two parts, situated north and south from each other. That to the north is the largest, being 1482 feet by 1006 in its greatest dimensions, and is called the Rajasthan or palace. It was probably the residence of Dharma Asoka, and certain of his successors on the throne of Magadha. Immediately south from the palace, and separated from it by a road, was the temple, which has left a ruin about 800 feet from east to west, and about 480 from north to south. The only part of the building which remains at all entire is the great mandir or shrine. This is a slender quadrangular pyramid of great height. The spire is on three sides surrounded by a terrace about 25 or 30 feet high, the extreme dimensions of which are 78 feet wide by 98 long. One end of this terrace towards the east formerly covered the porch, which has now fallen, and brought down part of the terrace with it. A stair from each side of the porch led up to the terrace, on which there was a fine walk round the temple, leading to the second story of the shrine in front, and to a large area behind, on which is planted the celebrated pipdl tree (Ficus religiosa). This tree is described by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton as in full vigour, and not more than a hundred years old ; but its present appear ance almost justifies the supposition that it was planted by Dugdha Kamini, King of Ceylon, 2225 years before Christ The Hindus say it was planted by Brahma. Around its root has been raised a circular elevation of brick and mortar, on which are placed a confused multitude of images and carved fragments of stone. It n this terrace that the pilgrims deposit their offerings. The TOWNS: BUDDH GAYA, ETC. 55 interior of the shrine consists of a chamber. At the far end is a throne of stone, on which is placed a huge misshapen daub of clay, representing the deity. Above this chamber are two others, one on the level of the old terrace, and the other still higher ; but the falling of the porch has cut off all communication with these chambers. Close by the temple is a large convent of Sanyisfs. The mahant or abbot shows visitors over the convent after they have inspected the temple. It is a well built place, with a good garden, and a private school, which seemed to be well attended. The monks are celibates. On the death of the mahant there is a meeting of the chelas, who elect one of their own body who is considered most fit for the post Their choice is also generally directed by the wishes of the last mahant, who before his death nominates the person he wishes to be his successor. At Konch, about fourteen miles to the north-west of Gayd, on the road to Daudnagar, is an old brick temple in the form of a quadrangu lar tower, containing a lingd, which is an object of worship. It is attributed to the Kol Rajas, but does not appear to be of very remote antiquity. There are other ruins in this District which are ascribed to the same founders, but with what truth I am unable to determine. BuniyAdganj, opposite to, and a little below, Sdhibganj, is chiefly occupied by weavers, who make a fabric resembling tasar silk. Atri, to the north-east of Gaya, in N. latitude 24' 55' 5* and E. longitude 85° 17' 40", has a police-station, with a force consisting of 1 sub-inspector, 1 head-constable, and 8 constables. Barachati lies nearly twenty miles south of Gayi, on the Grand Trunk Road, in N. latitude 240 30' 10", and E. longitude 84° 50' 28". It has a local police force consisting of 1 sub-inspector, 2 head-con stables, 14 constables, and 1 sawdr, or mounted constable. There is a dak bungalow here. The neighbourhood was formerly famous for its shooting, and even of late years tigers have been seen in the neighbourhood. Dhobi lies between BaVachati and Sherghatf. There is a ddk bungalow here, and travellers between Gaya" and Sherghdtf usually go round by this village. WazIrganj, to the east of Gaya, near the confines of the Nawdda Subdivision ; and Bela, to the north of Gayi on the Patnd road, are both important marts. The latter place used to be notorious for the number of robbers and other bad characters it contained. Bakror, on the Thdlgu, opposite Buddh Gaya, was visited by 56 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. the Chinese pilgrim Hiouen Thsang. Imamganj is the only notice able mart in the extreme south of the Subdivision. JAHANABAD SUBDIVISION. JahanabAd, the head-quarters of the Subdivision, is situated in N. latitude 25° 13' 10", and E. longitude 85° 2' 10", on the Patna branch road, 3 1 miles due north of Gayd, and rather more than half way to Patnd. It contains a population of 21,022 persons ; of whom 12,413, or 5883 males and 6530 females, are Hindus; and 8609, or 3212 males and 5397 females, are Muhammadans. The gross municipal income for the year 1871 was ,£75 ; the expenditure, ^81 1 8s. ; and the rate of municipal taxation, less than one penny per head of the population. The local police consists of 1 sub-inspec tor, 2 head-constables, and 12 constables. Dr Buchanan-Hamil ton states that in his time the town contained about 700 houses ; and that, besides the cloth factory, there was also a native agency for the manufacture of saltpetre. Lying as it does on the direct road midway between Patna. and Gayd, Jahdndbad has continued to increase in size and importance, though the old cloth trade has dwindled away. Three brick houses, one of which is said to have been built by the Dutch, are all that remain of what was once a flourishing trade. About 1760, when a central cloth factory of the East India Company was established in Patna, Jahdnabdd formed one of the eight smaller factories connected with that town. The system adopted for the payment of wages was one of advances; and the weavers worked off their advances by sup plying country cloth of different degrees of fineness at fixed rates. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton found the JahdnaMd factory thriving, and mentions the introduction of a system by a late manager of the factory, by which advances were obviated ; each of the 2200 weavers attached to the factory, who received 4s., engaged to work for the Company alone, and was paid on the presentation of the cloth according to its quality. Soon after this the factory must have languished, and eventually been abolished ; for local tradition asserts that the Company's connection with the factory was aban doned fifty-five years ago. But the industry did not entirely cease at the same time. Up to twenty years ago, a considerable export trade in cotton cloth was carried on in this neighbourhood ; but as soon as Manchester entered into competition, the trade failed. It was TOWNS.. ARWAL, ETC. 57 cheaper for the weaver to buy English thread, and for the con sumer to buy Manchester piece-goods, than the produce of his own neighbourhood. Large numbers of the JulaM or weaver class still live near the town, though, strangely enough, not one is mentioned in the Census Report of 1872. The town is situated on the right branch of the Murahar river, generally called the Dardha, and dur ing the floods a large tract of country is laid under water. The usual official buildings are on the south side of the river. The jail, which has lately been completed, is built with the latest improve ments. There is a good ddk bungalow, and an inspection bunga low, between the river and the residence of the subdivisional officer. The dispensary and post-office are on the north side of the stream. Arwal is situated in N. latitude 25° 14' 43", and E. longitude 840 42' 32", on the river Son, due east of Jahdnabad, near the confines of Patnd District. In Dr Buchanan-Hamilton's time this town was famous for its sugar and paper manufactories, but the latter industry is now almost extinct. The present importance of the village is due to its being the centre of the only indigo concern in the District, and to its position on the Patna Branch Canal. The local police force consists of 1 sub-inspector, 1 head-constable, and 10 constables. The Kaghazf Mahalla or Paper Quarter, of Arwal, which was once famous throughout Behar, rivalling the larger manufactory at Sahdran in Shdhdbdd, is now a heap of ruined houses, which still shelter the remains of a numerous population, once busy and prosperous. It used to have a wide market before Serdmpur was ever heard of. As late as 181 1, these papermakers were in easy circumstances ; and large quantities of paper were exported both down the Ganges, and across Shaiuibdd, Mfrzapur, and Bendres, into the North- West Provinces. In the village of Sipdh alone, 400 families were employed in the manufacture. Of that large number, only four remain. The process of manufacture will be described on a subsequent page. There are two considerable sugar manufactories. Weeds from the Son are used for refining ; but the finer kinds of sugar are not now manu factured here. The home market absorbs nearly all the produce. Tehta, a village on the Patnd branch road, about seven miles south of Jahdndbdd, is chiefly remarkable as being the head-quarters of an Opium District. The Sub-Deputy resides generally in Gaya, except during the spring season, when the cultivators bring in their opium to be weighed and packed for transmission to the central factory at Patna. The other places of interest in this Subdivision have been thus described by Mr Bourdillon : — " Many of the villages in the Subdi 58 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. vision of Jahdndbdd show evidence of former importance. Dhara- wath (in the south-east) was the head-quarters of a tahsilddr under the subahddr of Behar. It contains a fort built on a mud mound, with mud walls of great thickness, and masonry gateways pierced for musketry. Ruins of similar forts exist at Kinjdr on the Piinpiin, and at Siinera ; Bilkhura, Shishamba, Tilpa, and Hiilasganj have all a local history of interest But the archaeological interest of this Subdivision centres in the Bardbdr Hills, which stand at its south eastern corner. The highest peak of these hills is crowned by a temple of great antiquity, sacred to Sidheswdra, which contains a Iingd, said to have been placed there by Bird Rajd, the Asar king of Dinajpur, whose bloody wars with Krishna still live in the traditions of the people. From this peak, which rises on one side almost perpendicularly to a considerable height, there is a fine view over the country. In the month of Bhddo (September) a large fair or meld is held here, which is exclusively attended by men. High upon the peak of Bardbdr an extempore bdzdr is fitted up, and a brisk trade is driven in petty articles of all kinds, especially in sweetmeats and offerings for the god. The visitors begin to arrive with day light, and spend the day on the hill. The night is devoted to the worship of the image, and in the morning the crowd of pilgrims begins to melt away. Judging from what I saw at my visit in 1873, the fair is not so numerously attended as in Dr Buchanan-Hamilton's time, for he describes the plain of Rdm Gayd as filled with the pil grims; but I calculate that between 10,000 and 20,000 visitors from all parts of Behar passed the night on the mountain. The show of fakirs was very curious, and as studies of the combination of dirt and sanctity, they were particularly worth the attention of an artist. To the south, and near the foot of this hill, the path up which is freely adorned by images of all kinds, lies a small recess enclosed on two sides by the mountain, on the third by an artificial barrier of stone, and on the fourth by a long low ridge of granite. Here in the solid rock have been cut the remarkable caves, which have given the name of Satghar to the glen. These four extraordinary caves in this part of the mountain average thirty-two feet by fourteen feet ; and three out of the four are chiselled to a wonderful polish. The fourth is still unfinished. Inscriptions in the Pdli character fix with certainty the date of the excavation of these caves. The oldest was dug in the year 252 b.C., and the latest in 214 B.C., so that they have been in existence for more than two thousand years. Not far PLACES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST. 59 off is the sacred spring called the Patalgangd; and in another spur of the hill, known as Nagarjtmi, are the three other caves which complete the ' seven caves.' Still further south, at the base of the rugged peak of Kauwddol (the ' crow's rocking-stone '), is an enor mous figure of Buddhd ; while the great tank called Chando-khdr- Tdl at Dhardwath, with its siwdld, containing a fine figure of Bhairab, and the numerous figures and sculptures to be found throughout these hills, give them a great interest to the antiquary. These an tiquities have been fully described by both Dr Buchanan-Hamilton and General Cunningham. " Not far from these hills lies another natural curiosity, which has altogether escaped the notice of General Cunningham, although Dr Buchanan-Hamilton has cursorily noticed it. About nine miles to the north-east of the Barabdr Hills, and three miles from Hiildsganj, lies the village of Dapthu, which must formerly have been a place of religious celebrity, and which still contains the ruins of some handsome temples, well worth a visit. To the north of this village, again, and about two miles distant, just within the Gayd boundary, is an extraordinary mono lith in the open fields. It consists of a granite column, measuring 53 J feet in length by an average of 3 feet in diameter. The capital and pedestal are quadrangular ; the former is 86 inches long and 36 in diameter, while the base is 70 inches long and 40 in diameter. The shaft has 16 plain sides; at 38| inches above the pedestal, it con tracts its diameter suddenly by about 3 inches. This immense column is lying horizontally on the ground, pointing north and south ; about half of it is below the surface of the field. The granite of which it is composed is exactly similar to that of the BardMr Hills, and there can be no doubt that it was originally quarried there. Local tradition asserts that Rajd Sur Sinh, who reigned in the Himdlaya when the world was young, sent two divine messengers to bring this column from Lanka to be set up in a huge tank at Jan- akpur. But the gods loitered or wearied on the road, and after travelling all night, day broke on them here, and they were forced to leave their burden, to be a wonder and token to all time. Two impressions, one at each end of the pillar, mark the places where the adamantine heads of the heroes wore away the solid granite. The column possesses some sanctity. On feast-days and fast-days, and on the family festivals of the neighbouring villagers, offerings are made to the stone. Of its sacred character there can be no doubt, for it is related that Rajd Mitrajft Sinh came to try and 60 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GA YA DISTRICT. remove the column to Tikdrf ; but the excavations made by day were filled up during the night by ghostly hands, and the awestruck monarch, desisting from his impious attempt, bestowed the five bighds of land which immediately surround the stone as an endow ment for a guardian Brdhman." NAVVADA SUBDIVISION. NawAdA is situated on a branch of the Dhanarji river, in N. latitude 240 52. 42", and E. longitude 850 35' 1", in the centre of the Subdivision of which it is the head-quarters. The population is under 5000 ; but as almost the whole trade of the neighbourhood must pass through this place, it should rise in importance. The only metalled road in the Subdivision, which runs north and south be tween Behar and Rdjaulf, passes through the town, and a good but unmetalled road joins it to Gayd. During the famine of 1873-74, this road was extended east to the confines of the Subdivision. Two miles beyond the frontiers of the adjoining District there is a road which extends to Monghyr ; and if a junction were effected between these two roads, there would be a direct route from Monghyr to Gayd. Another important mart, Wdrisalfganj, was also connected with Nawddd during the famine year. Nawddd, which is probably a corruption of Naudbddah, has but little historical interest. Before its acquisition by the Company, it was ruled by the nearly independent Rajds of Hasiid. After the Settlement, and previous to the creation of the Subdivision in 1845, the whole neighbourhood was in great disorder. The only police station was at this place, and the entire force for the Subdivision consisted of a ddrogd, two or three subordinate officers, and about twenty constables. The present regular force consists of 1 inspec tor, 2 sub-inspectors, 2 head-constables, and 16 constables. HasvjA is situated to the south of the Gayd and Nawddd road, about fifteen miles from the latter town, in N. latitude 240 49' 43", and E. longitude 850 27' 35". The Census Report returns the population at 61 19; of whom 4963, or 2426 males and 2537 females, are Hindus; 1088, or 482 males and 606 females, are Muhammadans ; and 68 belong to other denominations. The gross municipal income for the year 1871 was ^120, 4s.; and the expen diture for the same period, ^85, 16s. ; the rate of municipal taxa tion being 4|d. per head of the population. Before 1845, the town TOWNS: RAJAULJ, ETC. 61 was a centre of disorder; cases of robbery and dakditf occurred every day, to prevent which an outpost in charge of aja'naddr was established. Afterwards, a barkanddz or petty officer was posted at Hasiid, who had no authority to hold investigations in criminal cases, but simply informed the ddrogd or head police officer at Nawddd of any occurrence. The present Outpost was created very lately. Hasiid, as mentioned above, was the abode of the Rdjas of Hasiid. Previous to the Permanent Settlement, Namdar Khdn, the Rdjd, and Kdmddr Khan were amils. The former owned 14 pargands and 84 ghdtivdli gadis or rent-free tenures, which extended beyond the confines of the District into Patna and Hazdribdgh. Ikbal Ali, the nephew of Namdar and son of Kamdar Khdn, was called upon to take the Settlement from Government for these lands village by village ; and on his refusal, it was made with the cultivators. There is a document extant signed by Ikbdl Alf, in which he complains of the great difficulty he had in keeping order among the Rajwdrs, Ghdtwdls, and Babhans of these parts. The trade is chiefly in agricultural produce. RAjAuLf is situated in the extreme south-east of the District, in N. latitude 240 39', and in E. longitude 850 32' 25". The population, according to the Census Report of 1872, is 5012 ; of whom 41 71, or 2006 males and 2165 females, are Hindus ; and 841, or 391 males and 450 females, are Muhammadans. The gross municipal income for the year 1871 was ^57, 4s. ; and the expenditure, ^75, 4s. ; the rate of municipal taxation being 2fd. per head of the population. The police force consists of 1 sub-inspector, 1 head-constable, and 1 2 constables. The town is connected with Behar town by a metalled road, which passes through Nawddd. Talc (or rather mica) is brought down from Hazdribdgh District, and sent to Calcutta, Lucknow, Bendres, &c. The Subdivisional Officer estimates the yearly amount at 178 tons, worth about ^2500. Ghi or melted butter is made here, and sent in skin-bags (champds) to Calcutta ; jungle produce from the adjacent hills is also brought for distribution. WArisalfganj, ten miles from Nawddd, with which town it has lately been connected by an unmetalled road, is one of the chief marts in this Subdivision. Linseed and saltpetre are the principal exports. The Subdivisional Officer estimates that the yearly manu facture of saltpetre is 2000 mans (72 tons), which is sold in Calcutta for ^8oo. The process of manufacture will be described on a sub sequent page. 62 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. The other marts in this Subdivision are at Pakribardnwan, Ak- barpur, Nemddrganj, Kadfrganj, and Gobindpur. At Kddirganj a coarse silk-cloth is manufactured ; ghl is exported from Gobindpur and Kawakhol; and at the former place there is a brisk trade in firewood. Betel-leaf is exported from Tungi, and the small villages of Deodha and Dhola. The archaeological interest circles round Giriyak, which lies just north of the present boundaries of the District Some account of the ruins at this place will be given in the Statistical Account of Patnl AURANGABAD SUBDIVISION. DAudnagar, though not the administrative head-quarters, is the chief town in this Subdivision. It is situated on the Sdn, about forty miles north-east from Gayd, in N. latitude 25° 2' 8*, and W. longi tude 840 26' 25". The population, according to the Census Report of 1872, is 10,058 ; of whom 7973, or 3985 males and 3988 females, are Hindus; and 2084, or 966 males and n 18 females, are Mu- hammadans. The gross municipal income for the year 1871 was ^206, 14s., and the expenditure ,£237 ; the rate of municipal taxa tion being sd. per head of the population. The local police consists of 1 sub-inspector, 2 head - constables, and 10 constables. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton describes Ddudnagar as a large country town, which, including Ahmadganj, contained about 8000 houses; but a very poor place. The greater part of the town consists of miser able crooked lanes, and even the best streets are generally irregular, terminating in a lane or interrupted by a hovel. Ddrid Khan, in the part of the town named after him, erected a handsome inn (sard/) surrounded by a rampart of brick, with battlements and loopholes, and strengthened at the corners by bastions. This building has two large gates, and was probably intended for a stronghold, and called an inn to avoid the jealousy of Government. Ahmad Khan, the son of Daud, built a real inn in the part of the town which has taken his name. He allowed the innkeepers to build their huts along the sides of a long, wide, straight street, which he secured at each end by a mud gate, where a guard was placed to protect the travellers. The only other public buildings worth note are a small Imdmbdrd, and what is called a chautdrd, where the descendants of the above- mentioned chiefs used to sit and transact business. The chautdrd consists of three stories, gradually decreasing in size, and each sur TOWNS: AURAKGABAD, ETC. 63 rounded by an open gallery covered by a pent-roof. It is a mean- looking place, made of mud with wooden posts and a tiled roof; and looks as if it would soon tumble to pieces. In Dr Buchanan- Hamilton's time there was a cloth factory dependent on the Com mercial Resident at Patnd, and a factory of the Opium- Agent at that city. The cloth factory has been abolished, but the manufacture of cloth is still continued. The Deputy-Collector is of opinion that the introduction of English cloth, and the continued use of Dacca muslins, has not led to the decadence of the trade of the country weaver here to such an extent as in Lower Bengal and Orissa. " The stout class of cloths which these men weave is in great demand ; and the better condition of the weaver is proved by the fact that very few of them during the last season of scarcity were compelled to come to our relief works." Coarse carpets and blankets are also manufac tured here. Situated as the town is on the banks of the Sdn, there is a certain amount of river trade with Patnd. This should be increased after the opening of the canal, which passes close by the town. Four miles out of Ddridnagar, on the road to Gayd, is situated a beautifully-carved temple. The work was performed at Mfrzapur, and put up here a few years ago. AurangAbad, the head-quarters of the Subdivision, is a long strag gling town on the Grand Trunk Road, about fourteen miles from the Son river, and thirty from Sherghatf, in N. latitude 240 45' 3", and E. longitude 84° 25' 2". The houses are chiefly made of mud; and some of them are adorned with carved wooden galleries. There are no remarkable temples or buildings. Besides the court-houses and jail, there is a school, dispensary, and inspection-bungalow. There is a fair-sized distillery here, and a good deal of native liquor is manufac tured. The trade of the place is not important, consisting chiefly of food-grains, oil-seeds, leather, lacquered ware, glassware and candles. Deo, about six miles to the south-east of AurangaMd, in N. latitude 24° 39' 3°"i anc* E- longitude 840 28' 38", is the seat of the Deo Rajds, who are one of the most ancient families in the District. The pre sent Raja, Jai Prakash Sinh K.C.S.I., traces his descent from Maharaja Rai Bhan Sinh, a younger brother of the Rind of Udaipur, one of the Sesodia Rajputs. This prince, on his way to the shrine at Jagannath, encamped at Umga, on the Grand Trunk Road, four teen miles to the east of Aurangabid. There was a hill-fort here, the chief of which had recently died, leaving an old and helpless widow, who was unable to keep order over her mutinous subjects. 64 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. On hearing of Bhan Sinh's arrival, she put herself under his protec tion, adopting him as her son. He soon made himself master of Umga garh, and quelled the incipient rebellion. After his death, two of his descendants ruled here, but the fort was subsequently de serted in favour of the present seat of the family at Deo. Raji Chha- tarpatf, from whom the present Raji is the fifth in descent, was the first to espouse the cause of the English. In the contest be tween Warren Hastings and Chait Sinh, the Raji of Benares, the Deo Rajd being too old to take the field in person, sent his son Fatah NaYiyan Sinh to join the English forces under Major Crawford. He afterwards aided the English under Major Russel in the war with the Pindarfs. For the former service, the young Rajl was given nankar, or rent-free tenure of eleven villages. His subsequent services were rewarded with the Raj of Palamau, which was afterwards exchanged for certain villages in the District of Gayi, yielding a profit of ^300 a year. The successor of Fatah Narayan Sinh was Gaushdm Sinh, the grandfather of the present Raji. He also took the field with the British forces against the mutineers at Surguja, and received in recompense, a second time, the Raj of Patemau. His son, Raja1 Mitra Bhfn Sinh, rendered good service in quelling the Kol insurrection in Chutid. Nag- pur, and was rewarded with the remission of ,£100 from the Govern ment revenue accruing from the Deo estate. The services of the present Raji during the Mutiny of 1857, and the aid he afforded to Colonel Dalton in quelling the insurrection in Chutii Nagpur, were recognised with the titles of Maharaja1 Bahadur, and the order of the Star of India. He was also granted the j'dgir or rent-free tenure of the pargands of Roh and Samdi, and the village Bamhandfh, in par- gand Sherghatt', yielding an annual revenue of ^1046, 25s. There is a famous temple at Deo called the Suraj Mandil. Thousands of people collect here twice in the year to hold the Chhat festival in honour of the Sun-god. One of the ceremonies consists in fastening a number of cords to a hook in the roof of the temple, which are extended to represent the rays of the sun. The ruins of the old fort at Umga still exist, near the village of Madanpur on the Grand Trunk Road. There is also a temple here of great antiquity. The chief marts in this Subdivision are Chirkinwan, and the ad joining village of Raffganj ; Obra on the Piinpun, a place famed for the manufacture of carpets, and Nabinagar in the extreme south west of the District, also on the Pdnpiin. Near Nabfnagar is the residence of the Chandra-ghar Bibu, who was presented by Govern THE MUTINY IN GA YA. 65 merit with a sword for his services during the Mutiny. The only other place that need be noted is Barun, on the Son, situated in N. latitude 240 51' 35*, and E. longitude 840 15' 57*. The river at this point is crossed by the Grand Trunk Road. During the rains the causeway, on which the road is made, lies under water, and travellers must use the ferry. About half-a-mile south of the cause way has been constructed an anient or weir, which is to divert the waters of the S<5n into the Eastern and Western main canals. An account of this weir and the works in connection with it will be found in the Statistical Account of Shihdbid District I close this sketch of the towns and villages of Gayi District with an account (taken from General Cunningham's Ancient Geography) of the travels of Hiouen Thsang, the famous Chinese pilgrim, who visited India in the seventh century of our era. At that time this District formed part of the great kingdom of Magadha, which extended south of the Ganges from Benlres to Monghyr, and south wards as far as Singbhiim. The pilgrim had been in Nepil, and entered Magadha about 20th February 637, a.d. After visiting Patni, he marched south thirty-three miles to Ti-lo-tse-kia, or Tilddaka, which was almost on the site of the village Tilari, on the east bank of the Phalgri ; thence south again for thirty-two miles to Buddha's Mountain, which is some three miles to the north of Wazfrganj. Thence, after visiting the large monastery at Gundmati near Nidd- wat, and Sflabhadra, another monastery on an isolated hill, probably near the village of Bithiwa, he went south-west to Gayd. He found that place thinly peopled, but containing a thousand families of Brdhmans. On his way to Buddh Gaya, he made a detour to Po- lo-ki-pu-ti, or Pragbodhi, a hill on the east bank of the Philgii. After paying his respects to the tree of wisdom, the pilgrim crossed the river again to Bakror, where there was a slupa named Gandha- hasti, or the scented elephant, and also a tank and a stone pillar, the ruins of which still exist. The pilgrim then marched north-east in the direction of Rajagrfha. His way led him by several sacred hills, which he duly visited and described. The rest of his journey was in Patni District, and need not be dwelt upon here. The Mutiny in GayL — The following paragraphs are condensed from Sir J. W. Kaye's History of the Sepoy War in India, vol. iii., pp. 151-159:— The mutiny of the Sepoy regiments at Dinapur on July 25, 1857, and the march of the mutineers into Shahabad District, have been VOL. XII. u 66 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. described in the Statistical Accounts of Patna and Shdhdbdd. Mr Tayler, the Commissioner of Patna, on receiving news of the disaster which had befallen Dunbar's relieving party near Arrah, gave orders to the chief officers in his Division to withdraw their establishments into the city of Patna. " In the month of July 1857, the two chief British officers stationed at Gaya were Mr Trotter the Judge, and Mr Alonzo Money the Magistrate of Behar. There had, ever since the commencement of the convulsions in Upper India, been indications in the District of an unquiet spirit pervading more or less all classes of the community, and strongest, perhaps, among the Hindu zaminddrs. In the city itself the Brahmans had been busy, industriously disseminating the fiction, so rife in all parts of the country, of the mixture of the bones or blood of swine and oxen with the atta, or flour, in the bdzdrs. It seemed to be one of their principal objects to corrupt the Sikh soldiery who were posted there, and to win them over to the rebel cause by these fabrications. When it was found that this was of no avail, they ostracised the Sikhs, declaring them to be Christians. It became necessary to suppress these machinations with a strong hand ; so a carpenter, against whom there was proof of having attempted to corrupt two Sikh soldiers, was hanged in the most public manner before all the troops and the police in the place. The example had a salutary effect in the city. "When news reached Mr Money that the Dindpur regiments had revolted, he bethought himself of active measures of defence. ' The mutiny of Dinapur,' he wrote to the Bengal Government, ' has thrown Gayd into a ferment. There is nothing, however, to be apprehended from the townspeople. They are surrounded by a new and strong police, and have a wholesome dread of the forty-five English and one hundred Sikhs. The present causes of apprehension are two — the inroad of any large number of Dindpur mutineers, or the ap proach of the Monghyr and Deoghar Fifth Irregulars, who are sure to rise, I imagine. ... If the mutineers, or any portion of them, come this way, they will either remain in the District and be joined by disaffected zaminddrs, or they will make for Gaya. There are plenty of zaminddrs who would join them, if they once got the upper hand ; but none, I think, that will hazard life and property before that. The following is our plan of operations : — Any body of the mutineers under 300 or 350, are to be met about two miles from the town ; 45 English, 100 Sikhs, and 40 najibs, besides four or five residents, THE MUTINY IN GAYA. 67 will oppose them. I shall put the najibs between the Sikhs and the English, so they must be staunch or be cut to pieces. The mutineers would be dejected and tired after a long march, and I have no doubt of giving them a good thrashing. If they come in large numbers, I shall place the treasure in a brick-house, which is being provisioned, and we will defend it with the same numbers as above.' " Affairs were in this state, when news of Dunbar's disaster having reached Patna, Mr Tayler issued the orders of which I have above spoken. How those orders were received at Gaya cannot be better told than in the words of the Magistrate himself : — " ' On the 31st of July,' wrote Mr Alonzo Money, not long after wards, ' I was sitting in my room, talking to the subahddr of the najibs, when a letter, marked ' urgent ' and ' express,' was put into my hands. I opened it ; it was from the Commissioner. It contained a telegraph message from the Government, and an order for me. The message spoke of the defeat of Dunbar's party near Arrah, and continued : ' Everything must now be sacrificed to holding the country and the occupation of a central position.' The order desired me and the other civil authorities to come with all our force to Patna, making our arrangements as promptly and quickly as possible. It contained an injunction to remove the treasure, if doing so endangered not per sonal safety. ' What does the Commissioner SaTiib say ? ' asked the subahddr. I made some excuse, and after a minute or two sent him off. I then despatched a circular round the station, and within an hour every one was present. It was agreed that we should start at five that evening At six we started.' They went, leaving everything behind them — seven or eight Idkhs of rupees in the trea sury, and a gaol gorged with criminals ; leaving the station and all that it contained under the charge of the ddrogd and the subahddr of the najibs, and set their faces towards Patna in obedience to the orders they had received. But the orders were that they should not abandon the treasure unless their lives were endangered by the attempt to remove it ; and there were those at Gaya who thought that they might have safely remained to complete their measures for the safe custody of the coin. " But they had not ridden more than two or three miles, when Alonzo Money fell into conversation with a gentleman of the Un- covenanted Service named Hollings. He was an officer attached to the Opium Agency, and he had no duty demanding his return to Gaya. But he felt acutely the degradation of the sudden abandon 68 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. ment of the station. Mr Money was moved by kindred feelings. So these two brave men determined to return to Gaya, and see what could be done to save the property of the Government, and lessen the discredit of this precipitate retreat. Whilst, therefore, the rest went on to Patna, Money and Hollings went back to the station which they had so lately quitted. They found things nearly as they had left them. The treasure remained intact ; the gaol held fast its prisoners. Up to this time the najlbs had faithfully fulfilled their trust. The return of the Magistrate seemed to give confidence to the people. Many of the most respectable inhabitants waited on Mr Money, and welcomed him back with expressions of joy. But when, as a measure of precaution, not unwise in itself, he burnt the Govern ment stamped paper, the first feeling of confidence subsided, and presently the najibs rose against us. " It was now plain that the position of these gallant Englishmen was one of no common difficulty and danger. Not only was there, as far as their information then extended, a prospect of being visited by the Dindpur mutineers and the insurgent rabble under Kuar Sinh, but they were threatened more imminently by an incursion of mutineers from Hazaribagh, where the native troops had also revolted. The first step, therefore, to be taken was to recall the detachment of Her Majesty's Sixty-fourth, which had left Gayd just before the European exodus ; and this done, the treasure was to be secured. Every effort was made to collect carriage for the transport of the coin, and on the 4th of August the convoy was ready to depart. But in what direction was it to proceed? The order (it has been shown) which Money had received was that he should convey the treasure to Patnd, if it could be done without endangering European life. And this was the course which, in the first instance, he had resolved to pursue. But when false rumours came from Dindpur that a body of mutineers was marching on Gayd, and that martial law had been proclaimed in all the Behar Districts, there seemed to be little hope of so small a party, heavily encumbered, reaching Patna in safety. It was determined, therefore, at a council of civil and military officers, that the better course would be to take the Grand Trunk Road to Calcutta — a far longer but a safer journey. So the treasure party moved out from Gayd, under com mand of Captain Thompson. "That night the little party was attacked by a mixed crowd of gaol-birds and gaolers. The escaped prisoners, and the najibs who VILLAGE OFFICIALS. 69 should have forbidden their escape, had made the expected com bination, and had come to seize the treasure. Although it was a night-attack, it was not a surprise. Thompson's men were ready for them, and they gave the would-be plunderers a warm reception ; some of them were shot down, and the rest were glad to carry their lives back with them to Gaya. From that time Money went on his way uninterrupted and unmolested ; and in the middle of August he rode into Calcutta, and delivered over to Government the large amount of treasure which he had rescued from the clutches of the insurgents. Among the exploits of the war scored down to the credit of the Bengal Civil Service, there are few which at the time excited more enthusiasm than this. The Governor-General and his colleagues commended the conduct of Alonzo Money, and sent him back to Gaya with enlarged responsibilities and increased emoluments. Mr Rollings also had substantial reasons for knowing that his conduct was approved by the higher authorities." Village Institutions and Officials. — This subject, so far as concerns the southern Districts of the Patni Division, has been fully treated of in the Statistical Account of Patni District The only village official which is peculiar to the District is the digwdr or road-policeman. I am unable to discover when these men were first appointed ; but the general belief appears to be that the office was created early in the present century, owing to the fre quent occurrence of accidents to travellers on roads and hill-passes. I am inclined, however, to assign a later date, as digwdrs are never mentioned by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton, and it is improbable that he would have overlooked such a peculiar institution. They were apparently first used as guardians to travellers through the hill- passes, and afterwards others were placed on the different lines of communication. Their pay varies from Rs. 2-8 to Rs. 3, or from 5s. to 6s. a month, and every landowner living within a radius of two miles of the digwdr's hut is liable to contribute his share. Their present number is said to be 122 men, maintained at a total an nual cost of ^786, 12s. Of these, 67 are in the Sadr Subdivision, 42 in Nawidi, 8 in Jahdnabdd, and 5 in Aurangabad. They are posted at intervals of a few miles along all the principal roads. Of late years they have been armed with drums, the sound of which is intended to accomplish the double purpose of frightening away robbers, and of encouraging the timid traveller by night with evi dence of their vigilance. It is an undoubted fact that highway rob 68 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. ment of the station. Mr Money was moved by kindred feelim So these two brave men determined to return to Gaya, and see wl could be done to save the property of the Government, and lesi the discredit of this precipitate retreat. Whilst, therefore, the 1 went on to Patna, Money and Hollings went back to the stat which they had so lately quitted. They found things nearly as t had left them. The treasure remained intact ; the gaol held fas prisoners. Up to this time the najibs had faithfully fulfilled their ti The return of the Magistrate seemed to give confidence to the pec Many of the most respectable inhabitants waited on Mr Mo and welcomed him back with expressions of joy. But when, measure of precaution, not unwise in itself, he burnt the Go ment stamped paper, the first feeling of confidence subsided presently the najibs rose against us. " It was now plain that the position of these gallant Englis' was one of no common difficulty and danger. Not only was I as far as their information then extended, a prospect of being v by the Dindpur mutineers and the insurgent rabble under Sinh, but they were threatened more imminently by an inc of mutineers from Hazaribagh, where the native troops ha* revolted. The first step, therefore, to be taken was to recr detachment of Her Majesty's Sixty-fourth, which had left Gaj before the European exodus ; and this done, the treasure was secured. Every effort was made to collect carriage for the tra of the coin, and on the 4th of August the convoy was re depart. But in what direction was it to proceed? The or has been shown) which Money had received was that he convey the treasure to Patna, if it could be clone without enda' European life. And this was the course which, in the first ir he had resolved to pursue. But when false rumours carr Dinapur that a body of mutineers was marching on Gayi, a' martial law had been proclaimed in all the Behar District1 seemed to be little hope of so small a party, heavily encui reaching Patna in safety. It was determined, therefore, at a of civil and military officers, that the better course woul' take the Grand Trunk Road to Calcutta — a far longer bi: journey. So the treasure party mover1 ' ^m Gaya, unci mand of Captain Thompson. ''That night the little p.- gaol-birds anr' _-i.-i .■•.'*..*. : ae smKM cuB'- «i;#...-js.r t «ke t as »er- tat';- i-x* ex mrv-je «va#» : aac 1.. r i-r.-ji..- -r. » rtJT.JT .r. r.-^ jj»! ai E ^ X.-..- *Zsrj~ £ : • - -. . --ae. jn rrr a, j» . ■* s* * 1 i r i s n r- w. ct as rth his eals Ives heir very lates .icles i\vays 1 that 6S STATU «"! "J ment of the sta So these two bra could be done to the discredit of t went on to Patna which they had so had left them. Th prisoners. Up to th The return of the M, Many of the most i and welcomed him 1 measure of precauti< ment stamped paper, presently the najibs re " It was now plain 1 was one of no commoi as far as their informati by the Dindpur mutin Sinh, but they were thi of mutineers from Haz revolted. The first step detachment of Her Majc before the European exoc secured. Every effort was of the coin, and on the depart. But in what dire has been shown) which ^ convey the treasure to Patn. European life. And this w he had resolved to pursue Dindpur that a body of mut. martial law had been proci seemed to be little hope of reaching Patnd in safety. It of civil and military officers take the Grand Trunk Roa( journey. So the treasure pa mand of Captain Thompson. "That night the little part gaol-birds and gaolers. The i abwass :i : PEOPLE. 75 ^mnc.mm ^ner. the Gayi cl^.jili s ht aeeaaaz zi zs: ■ - ^r- Siirements to ten j=i:nrarand the <— r ~-= ss piedged to (me acinic: and ksjs^ -- j- 3aer: in the weanxx ssc of *•"•' ■ - ct -~' -i sssad IcalcsiaantErnginiricrsH: T^te ullowing is the ooEnon a: EaHzne ^aaniiibid : — '■ \\ ith i ^zz; whpihhw — iKreopleareaso3asr.i2Ec ; The* at a healthy, scIhotiez nenpttu •~ ^aarajsj ideas of hmnT than to aanna. — — i Tmnerer.wbo till tas soil, aieintna: ■ ~-as- a i cora&y where ignorance piE- .-rsee jb? rested in the hands o f a vsrv r'Tesa; Tcrsuit. The great maiorrrv — ; ta r.iai share of the amcies of •t -cmier themselves annas: inde- - •3--*^L Hiace high prices do no: — ■ -■*» not Tisch them severely on r. • •: taaes of dividing ha"; the v ■='■:'!£ i?etter, and xeecs teem -t :ssewhere. Among tee - ■-- je sell discernible, being . — .ssns. The words mnc _3=r xil servant. The ■- _:«■ was a purchaser! . .a the occasumE nf ^ _ ^ns one to sender - =* -«_-**- j*r js xilow : — DWELLINGS OF THE PEOPLE: FOOD. 75 "If the idea of emigration could once be popularised, and could take such hold of the people as it did of the Irish twenty-five years ago, it would be the best possible thing that could happen to these Districts. By reducing the competition for land, it would super induce the very remedy to which we look — viz., a more equitable distribution of the products of the soil. So long as the existing competition for land exists, it must always have its natural effect in the depressed and impoverished condition of the cultivating class ; and from this natural effect neither improved administra tion, nor primary education, nor any other panacea can save them, till such time as either the multiplication of the race on the same spot, or their traditional earth-hunger is in some way abated. The people, we may be sure, will not cease to breed ; and, therefore, the introduction of manufactures to supply other employment than agriculture is one remedy, and emigration is the other. Neither seems to me to be very hopeful. The passion for emigration may come in time ; at present there is not the faintest symptom of it, and it will be very many years before it can have any perceptible effect on the population. For the present, I see only two ways of meet ing the possibility of future famines — first, facilities for irrigation ; second, improved railway communication. Where there are railways, private trade will always supply food." Both these subjects are now under the consideration of Government. The Dress of the People differs in no respect from that which has been described in the Statistical Account of Patni District. Dwellings. — Only the wealthy townsmen of Gaya live in brick houses, which are often three or four stories high, strongly built, and in many cases fortified. The great majority of houses have mud walls, while the roofs are either tiled or thatched. The floor or ceil ing is sometimes strengthened by the addition of the calcareous concretions called kankar. The doors and window-shutters are of wood, and rudely constructed. Glass or mica for windows is un known. The walls are sometimes ornamented with gaudy pictures, and the galleries have a fronting of carved woodwork. The interiors of the houses are constructed on the same plan as that which has been described in the Statistical Account of Patna" District, varying with the wealth of the occupant. In the wilder parts of the District, the poorest classes inhabit huts shaped like beehives, or often a still more miserable structure made of reeds, called jhonpard. Food. — In treating of the material condition of the people, I have t* 76 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. described the coarse food upon which the poorer classes support life. The Collector, in 1870, estimated that an average well-to-do shop keeper would spend from Rs. 10 to Rs. 20, or from £1 to £2 a month on his household ; a well-to-do peasant from Rs. 8 to Rs. 18, or from 16s. to £1, 16s. ; and an ordinary cultivator from Rs. 4 to Rs. 8, or from 8s. to 1 6s. He gives no details by which the above- mentioned results are arrived at, nor the size of the household for which this estimate is formed. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton furnished some curious statistics, giving the number of families in each police circle of Behar, and the extent to which they use certain luxuries in dress, food, and drink. He divided the population into four classes — (1) Those that procure oil in abundance; (2) Those that have a moderate allowance ; (3) Those that procure oil scantily ; and (4) Those that procure oil only occasionally. Taking the police circles of Gayd and Nawadi, we find that in the former circle one-eighth of the population belonged to the first class, one- fourth to the second class, three-eighths to the third class, and one- fourth to the fourth class. In the Nawidd circle, seven-eighths of the population belonged to the third class, that is, those that pro cure oil scantily ; and the remaining eighth to the other three classes. The average daily allowance of oil for a family of five per sons in the first class is n sikkd weight, or about 3 oz. 13 dwt. 17 grs. ; in the second class, 5 J J sikkd weight, or about 2 oz. 5 dwt ; in the third class, 2\ sikkd weight, or about 18 dwt. 10 grs. The fourth class only use oil on high occasions. The estimate includes the whole daily allowance for the lamp, for unction, and for the kitchen. From inquiries that I myself instituted, I should put the average monthly living expenses of a well-to-do shopkeeper, whose household consists of six persons, as follows : — Rice, Rs.7, or 14s. ; oil, Ri, or as. ; — salt, R. 0-8, or is. ; condiments of allsorts, Rs. 3-2, or 6s. 3d. ; fuel, R. 1-8, or 3s. ; clothes, R. 1-8, or 3s. ; barber, washerman, religious ceremonies, &c, R. 0-6, or od. ; total Rs. 15, or £1, 10s. per month. A peasant family in well-to-do circumstances would spend rather less ; the fuel would cost nothing, and less oil would be required. A day- labourer with his family, in poor circumstances, would spend in a month : — on satu, Rs. 2-8, or 5s. ; on clothes, R. 0-8, or is. ; and on salt, &c, R. 0-8, or is. ; total, Rs. 4-8, or 9s. His daily diet of satu would sometimes be varied with coarse bread ; while a fish caught in a watercourse, or fruit from the jungle, would be his only relish. Marriage Ceremonies.— Gayd has been visited more than once MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 77 by Piarf Lai, a Kayasth from Shdhdbad, who has engaged in a mis sion to diminish the marriage expenses habitually incurred by the members of his caste. It appears that no Kayasth will allow his son to marry until the father of the girl has paid over a large sum, which sometimes amounts to .£500, as tilak, in addition to the expenses of the marriage ceremony. The inability of most fathers with marriageable daughters to comply with this demand, results in the daughters having to put up with the sons of poor but honest parents whose demands are less exorbitant. The object of Pidrf LaTs mission is to have a fixed and recognised demand of £$, 2s. as lilak, which must not be exceeded in any case ; though rich parents are at liberty to supplement this with a gift after marriage. He also wishes to curtail the extravagant sums paid during the marriage ceremonies for fireworks, ballets, processions, &c. His efforts have attained but little practical results in Gaya. The greatest extravagance at weddings is, however, displayed by the Gaydwals ; and as but little is known of the habits of this class, I have inserted the following account of some peculiarities in their marriage customs. The charhdwd is a grand procession, composed of elephants, camels, horses, men armed like the soldiers of native princes, and high stands (chauki) loaded with huge paper toys, models of temples in coarse sugar, vegetables, fruits, sweetmeats, &c, which are sent by the bride's father to the house of the bride groom some days before the marriage. Binauki, or the escorting of the bridegroom to the bride's house before the wedding, is a very grand ceremony. The boy is seated in a gorgeous sedan-chair (chandaul), and is accompanied by his female relatives, and preceded by all kinds of music. The procession is met by the bride's relations ; and the whole party, singing abusive songs and playing jokes on innocent bystanders, go on rejoicing to the houses of different friends and relations, who give presents of dresses, &c. Finally, the boy is left at the bride's residence ; and the female relatives resort to Surajkiind, a tank near the temple of Vishnu-pad for the machhar- haid, where they surround an unfortunate man-servant whom they abuse, cuff with dyed hands, and generally maltreat. In the actual wedding ceremony, the only variation from the ordinary practice of Hindus is, that the bride is seated on her father-in-law's lap at the time of applying the powder to her head. The marriage is followed by the jorikdbardt, when the near relatives of the bridegroom go to the bride's house to receive presents of dresses. The ceremony -" -L*T-i DISTRICT. ' -'-^3. szii^uur -s 3d exception to the i :ie jmijwner and the banid s=-Z^l - a ne rrpf;-r?qnr. and his»plates ■nnr :ask of clearing off ^ue -=at eight oat of ten -e Jrimon a£ the native :--- "s ■ =^ : ""■•■ '"■'-l:-- — "^nr x 'i^hr Government ericas OTjrceat and contented seif-omng people, ^e.-^iss r rmcrrrban to natural ttce. vn_ nZ ~e scnX are in that s. -srr-321 ^r: ~ r e--zrvct=ti a; ^ cmnr-r-vnere -.gnomrxe pre- -3^5. _=u »-jre -=ir=jji_nL. zrrr=c= -rs-^es=*_:z; ^ejiands oca very s-n x.r-rzi-'^rr 5 j_n:£C Jt ^rrersi ;::■»»!- Tie jieul majority x. z^r T-— - -:z=r -sat rs^2s^-es :r _«: - :care a" :he articles of jcai_^r — :--:»■ ->- - :. to. xa~ =.:s "re- ir -remseives almost inde- T!r..:.irr - r^ n^^r t- rt Bm-i. 2rece i:_p prices do not jnS*— ~^z. x tc=l xr_ isr=s ^:cs i: -— js na-n aevaery on a 32 ^s. " -t rs- 7- . ~ re j^sgrr: -rscr;.-e ji iivriiing half the :rr— v-i - - ^i.— -rr-;--rs ~ -er~ i cften and keeps them s --isesst.n t r_r^ r-.--.-ir^in ran ^ht^t:=m. Among the j_--zrrr-_; .- l~> :- t— i: ..v i -Lirerr :rc :cZ iisceriricle, being i-rr.i: ~- — -_ -- ii ^ "- ~ -r;.. i-rr=i ^rsisa. Tie words lira ir-i .-: .-r = ..^r^ =.= -r--::-— •: i=^c=r .si servant. The ^ " - — v-._-o iL-^- t 5ss cr=^-:— -r=ir_:iii:=r was x purchased ^-r-t. s r.m"--_I^u. -~nZ. "n 3^-e ns jt-; ja :ne 'castons of i^i'-^j: i^.; z^r*— .,~rr, '. -. n: .s J ;.i ra =tr:.i s-ine ace to render s=— .re ji ils r._^2. Tie s-=r^a s* lowers:; an me cedine." ■Jne a ne ~.t-r" -msnrs iir ne inr lun-ra c-jmiinmi of the ;?ein.e £ ziti zns: juiL ixir mrrvsrr.; jressire af ae popola- rca ia ~:e suL Tie J.j^as Injure n ri^z. ennrarieg the ^i-pi?..Tri-Tt T'^i zz V DWELLINGS OF THE PEOPLE: FOOD. 75 " If the idea of emigration could once be popularised, and could take such hold of the people as it did of the Irish twenty-five years ago, it- would be the best possible thing that could happen to these Districts. By reducing the competition for land, it would super induce the very remedy to which we look — viz., a more equitable distribution of the products of the soil. So long as the existing competition for land exists, it must always have its natural effect in the depressed and impoverished condition of the cultivating class ; and from this natural effect neither improved administra tion, nor primary education, nor any other panacea can save them, till such time as either the multiplication of the race on the same spot, or their traditional earth-hunger is in some way abated. The people, we may be sure, will not cease to breed ; and, therefore, the introduction of manufactures to supply other employment than agriculture is one remedy, and emigration is the other. Neither seems to me to be very hopeful. The passion for emigration may come in time ; at present there is not the faintest symptom of it, and it will be very many years before it can have any perceptible effect on the population. For the present, I see only two ways of meet ing the possibility of future famines — first, facilities for irrigation ; second, improved railway communication. Where there are railways, private trade will always supply food." Both these subjects are now under the consideration of Government. The Dress of the People differs in no respect from that which has been described in the Statistical Account of Patna" District. Dwellings. — Only the wealthy townsmen of Gaya" live in brick houses, which are often three or four stories high, strongly built, and in many cases fortified. The great majority of houses have mud walls, while the roofs are either tiled or thatched. The floor or ceil ing is sometimes strengthened by the addition of the calcareous concretions called kankar. The doors and window-shutters are of wood, and rudely constructed. Glass or mica for windows is un known. The walls are sometimes ornamented with gaudy pictures, and the galleries have a fronting of carved woodwork. The interiors of the houses are constructed on the same plan as that which has been described in the Statistical Account of Patna District, varying with the wealth of the occupant. In the wilder parts of the District, the poorest classes inhabit huts shaped like beehives, or often a still more miserable structure made of reeds, called jhonpard. Food. — In treating of the material condition of the people, I have 78 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. called chauthdri takes place on the fourth day after marriage, whence the name is derived. The happy pair proceed to the tank Rukmim accompanied by some of their relatives, and there a little drama is enacted. A pot filled with rice and cowries is placed on the bride's head, who drops it, and then gets very angry, and has to be coaxed into good humour by the bridegroom. After this, the whole party feast and sing songs till the evening sends them home. Games and Amusements. — There is an infinite variety of games of skill and chance. Satranj, the king of games, is the origin of our chess, and is played substantially in the same way, except that the pawn's first move is limited to a single square. The pieces are called as follows : — The king, bddshdh ; the queen, farzi or wazir, or prime minister ; the castle, rokh (hence our rook) or kashti ; the bishop, ///or hdthi; the knight, ghord; and the pawn, piddd, or foot-soldier. This game is played chiefly by the better classes, who also affect the games of chausar and pachisi. Chausar, like pdsd in Bengal, is played on a board shaped like a cross, the four arms being of the same length, divided into twenty-four squares, eight rows of three, each coloured alternately like a chessboard. It is generally played by two persons. Each player has four or eight men (goti), and the game is played with three dice which are not cubes, but parallelo- pipedons, and are marked on four sides with the numbers i, 2, 5, and 6. The object of the players is to get all their men round the outer edge of the board, and then up the centre row into the square place in the centre called the Mlghar, or red-house. He who first gets all his men into the centre place wins the game. Pachisi is played on a similar board by two, three, or four players, each having two men. Instead of three dice, five cowries are used ; and the points are numbered according as the cowries fall with the flat side up or down. Should all the cowries fall in the same manner, the thrower scores twenty-five ; hence the name of the game. Rdm tir is a game like draughts, played on a square board, divided into sixty-four squares, with diagonal lines drawn across it. Each player has thirty-six men, placed on the points of intersection, so that only the centre row is left blank. The moves are made along the lines, and men are taken as in draughts. The one who first clears off all his adversary's men wins. Naugotiyd is a similar game, but there are only nine pieces on each side, whence the name. The board is in the shape of two equi lateral triangles, whose vertices meet at a common point. With the exception of this point, all the points of intersection are occupied GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS. 79 by the pieces. Bdgh-bakri, or " tiger and goats," is like the Eng lish " Fox and Geese." It is played on a board divided into sixteen squares, having diagonal lines across them. The tiger is placed in the centre, and the object of the eighteen goats is to hem him up so that he cannot move. Games at cards are very numerous. Naksh-mdr is very similar to our vingt-et-un, though it is generally played by only two men. Instead of 21, 17 is the number which the players wish to obtain. Court-cards, if red, count 12; and if black, 11. In playing, the hand which contains a court-card wins against a hand containing no court-card, even though the pips count the same ; for instance, a red queen, a two and a three, wins against a ten, a five, and a two, though both are valued at 1 7. There are no " naturals," but in other respects the game is played like vingt-et-un. Rangmdr is played by two, three, or four men. The cards are divided equally among the players; one leads a card, and the others follow suit, the highest winning the trick. The cards rank as in whist ; the ace, ekd, count ing highest. The tricks are taken up into the hand, and the game is won by the player who can get the whole pack into his. possession. Ganjifd is a game played with circular cards. The pack consists of eight suits, named surkh, bardt, kamdsh, chang,tdj, safed, shamshir, and ghuldm. Each suit has twelve cards, named shdh, wazir, dahld, nahld, athd, satd, chhakd, panjd, chawd, tiyd, dud, and ekd. In every suit, the king and queen, shdh and wazir, count highest. In the four suits first mentioned, the cards rank from 1 to 10 ; in the remaining suits the cards rank from 10 to 1. The rules of play are rather involved, and are not easily learnt except by practice. The cards are held in both hands, and the game is said to have been invented for the benefit of a Rdjd of Jaipur, who was suffering from itch. The favourite game for gamblers is sorhi, so called because it is played with sixteen cowries. It is played by two, three, or four men ; and lookers-on also stake on the game. Each player takes one of the four numbers, 5, 6, 7, 8, as his ddo, or sign. The ddo 5 represents the numbers 1, 5, 9, and 13 ; the ddo 6 represents 2, 6, 10, and 14 ; the ddo 7 repre sents 3, 7, ii, and 15; and the ddo 8 represents 4, 8, 12, and 16. Each player throws the cowries in turn, and the rest stake on their ddo. The cowries which fall chit, i.e., with the flat side uppermost, are counted. Supposing that it is the turn of the player whose ddo is 6 to throw. Should there be 2, 6, 10, or 14 cowries chit, the thrower sweeps the board ; but if any other number of cowries turn 80 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. up, he must pay to the player whose ddo wins whatever sum he may have staked. As a rule, only great gamblers play this game ; but on the night of the Diwdli festival very few refrain from trying their luck. The lower classes and boys play several gambling games with cowries, of which the following are common : — At chaivd or inilho any number may play. First, a pool is formed ; then each player takes a cowrie, called tolyd. These cowries are thrown, and if one cowrie falls flat or chit, its owner is the first player, and is called mir. The order of playing for the remaining players is settled in the same way. Then the mir begins the game by throwing his toiyd in a certain direction ; the second player aims at this cowrie, and if his toiyd strikes or stops within four fingers' breadth (hence the name chawd) of the mir's cowrie, the second player wins the pool. If he fails, the other players follow in turn and attempt the same. Should all fail, the mir takes up his toiyd and aims at the pool. If he succeeds in getting within the requisite distance, he wins the whole ; but if he also fails, the others follow in turn and aim at the pool. The first who succeeds sweeps the board, and the game is recommenced. Jtit-tndr is played by two men, who aim in turn at three cowries put in a line. Tund mdri is played with two cowries ; one player aims at the other's cowrie; the cowrie must not be thrown, but jerked out from between the thumb and second finger. Should the cowrie be hit, and both cowries remain flat {chit), or the reverse (pat), the striker wins ; but if not, the hit counts for nothing. Nakimuth is played by two persons. One takes a handful of cowries, and the other guesses whether the number is odd or even (kdgyd duruf). In guchi, the players aim at cowries in a hole, and gain all that are knocked outside a bounding line. Girtd is played with a teetotum, and resembles the Bengali kupdn, an account of which is given in the Statistical Account of the Twenty-four Parganas (vol. i. p. 132). Gaud gotiis played by women and children with five cowries, in the same way as our schoolboys play " knuckle-bones." There are several games played by boys with circular bits of earthenware, called katis. Kati is played by a number of per sons who divide into two parties. One party puts down their katis in a line, and the other party try to strike these katis from a certain distance. Should any one of them succeed, his whole side mounts on the shoulders of the other side ; but if they all fail, then the other side go in, and aim in their turn. Chini is a similar game, but here the players all aim at a stick. When all have succeeded MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: CONVEYANCES, ETC. 81 but one, the other players call him Thief, and throw their katis at him. Boys also play a sort of " trap bat and ball," called gulidantd, and a form of " prisoner's base," called kabadi. Chikd is played by a number of boys, who form sides. One from each side join hands, and strive to pull each other over a line drawn between them. Phulbhujdwal, and tilid-tili are guessing games, in which the losers have to carry the winners on their shoulders. This list of games might be extended, but enough has been given to show the chief forms in vogue amongst all classes. Musical Instruments are chiefly of three kinds — drums, stringed and wind instruments. The drums consist of the tabId, dlwl, dholak, mirdung, pakhdwaj, mdndir, guriimbdjd, and tdshd dhdk. These drums are of various shapes, some having but one end, others two ; some are played like kettledrums, some with sticks, others with the hand. Mor-bdjd is a drum adorned with peacocks' feathers. The stringed instruments consist of the sitdr, a kind of guitar, the body of which is often made of the dried shell of a pumpkin, the four strings being of brass ; the rabdb, a sort of banjo ; the sitrangi and isrdr, both species of violins ; the bin, a double guitar with seven strings ; and the ektdrd, with only one string. Of the wind instruments, the bdnsuli is a sort of flute ; the singd is a copper trumpet ; and the munh chang, a brass instrument. Combinations of instruments are very common, and sometimes have special names, such as roshan chauki, a combination of drums and horns ; and the dafld, a com bination of drums and flutes. Besides these, steel or stone castanets, called kartdl, and the " sounding brass " of the manjird, are often heard. Jaltarang is a curious instrument, consisting of three brass pots filled with water, which are struck with a stick. Conveyances. — I have already mentioned the curious little rafts called gharndi, which are used for crossing the riverswhen swollen. Old men and children often get astride of an earthen pot for crossing deep water. On land, the richer class of natives use European carriages. The native conveyances used by the people are as follows : — Krdnchi is a primitive sort of four-wheeled carriage. It is commonly drawn by ponies, but sometimes by men. In the latter case, the conveyance is called a tild gdri, or drawn cart. The pdlki is an oblong box with sliding doors at the side and a pole at each end ; it is usually from six to seven feet long, and is carried by four bearers on their shoulders. Bdrddari is a kind of open pdlki, and is so called from having twelve doors or openings. The dhuli is a VOL. XII. E 82 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. slight bamboo framework covered with coarse cloth, about two and a half feet square, with a bedding made of string woven across, on which the passenger sits. It is slung on a stout bamboo pole, and carried by two or four men. The nalki is used at marriage ceremonies. It is like a dhuli with a cloth hood. The bam boo on which it is slung is curved at each end like a swan's neck. The mahdfah is a big closed dhuli, used chiefly at marriage ceremonies, and by rich women when travelling. The ckka is the most common conveyance. It is a light, two-wheeled cart drawn by a pony. The cart is covered by a wooden framework, covered with cloth. There are no springs, and it is hardly ever used by Europeans ; but natives often travel long distances in ekkas. A good pony has been known to take an ckka from Gayd to Patnd, a distance of sixty-one miles, in twelve hours. The bahal or pata nidgdri is like an ckka in form, only larger and heavier. It is drawn by bullocks, and used chiefly by women. Rath is a double-bodied bullock-cart, with four wooden wheels. There are two compartments, each covered with a hood ; and it is capable of carrying four persons. Sagar is the ordinary bullock-cart in use. It consists of a framework of bamboo, sup ported on two wooden wheels and a wooden axle. It is commonly drawn by two bullocks, but a third is often added in front. This cart varies in shape, being made long for the carriage of bricks, and sometimes having raised sides of bamboo and string. An unt-gdri or camel-cart goes daily to and fro between Patnd and Gayd. It is shaped something like an omnibus, and is drawn by relays of camels. The rich natives often use elephants for travelling short distances in the District ; and many also keep riding-camels for their messengers. All the above-mentioned means of conveyance may also be seen in Patnd District. Agriculture. — The principal crops may be classified under the four heads of cereals, green crops, fibres, and miscellaneous. Cereals. — Rice. — Of these, rice is the most important, as it forms the staple crop of Gayd District. The Collector in 1870 estimated the average area cultivated with rice at 895,620 acres, producing 11,253,060 mans or 401,895 tons; of which about one-fourth is exported to other Districts. There are two crops of rice grown in Gayd — the bhadai and the kharif ; of which the latter is the more important. Both crops are sown in June or early in July; but the former is sown broadcast, and is reaped in sixty days (hence it is called sdthia dhdtr), while the latter is generally sown in low lands, AGRICULTURE: RICE CULTIVATION. 83 transplanted in July or August, and not reaped till December or January. The broadcast rice is called ba7vag ; and the transplanted rice ropd. In dry seasons, the rice cannot be transplanted, and is cut for fodder. The following fifty-nine varieties of rice were sup plied to me by the native Deputy-Collector of Gayd :— Fine paddy, first-class — (1) Bdnsmati ; (2) dolangi ; (3) Idldiyd ; (4) himaadh ; (5) thdkurprasdd ; (6) sirikawal ; (7) kdribdnk ; (8) batdsd ; (9) sdmzird. Fine paddy, second class — (1) dudh kdhar ; (2) rdmdayi ; (3) kapursdr ; (4) sibladu ; (5) kijrd ; (6) badarpJMi ; (7) cliandragahi ; (8) rdjmohnl ; (9) rdm-duldri. Coarse paddy — (1) murdhi ; (2) safed; (3) srihati ; (4) naudharud ; (5) lubdhd ; (6) lubdhi ; (7) jotigd ; (8) baitharni ; (9) lohrd ; (10) rdt ; (n) bakoi ; (12) bardnti ; (13) katikd ; (14) karhdni ; (15) £wi ; (16) batdsi ; (17) sdhil ; (18) khaidyil ; (19) jaltham ; (20) dhtisrd ; (21) gordti- lon ; (22) gajpatd ; (23) bdnsphul ; (24) go; mukta; (25) safi/d ; (26) bdlam ; (27) *v#/ ; (28) gajmtikti ; (29) dlianidnwdn ; (30) saringi ; (31) batdsphani ; (32) saranga ; (33) glwrsdr ; (34) jrfmf; (35) rarhiyd ; (36) sikisdr ; (37) karangd ; (38) dakaha ; (39) jflnf y (40) sathi ; (41) s'tlhati. According to Dr Buchanan-Hamilton, rather more than half of the winter-rice crop is sown broadcast, after the commencement of the rains, on the lowest lands. Dibbling is not in use. The rice is not so coarse as that of Bengal. The transplanted rice is all fine, such as is usually known as Patnd rice. The very finest, called bdnsmati, does not exceed one-quarter of the whole, and is not of such an excellent flavour as the bdnsmati (pregnant with perfume) of Bdreli ; but it is an article of exportation, for which at Calcutta there is always a great demand. Most of the seed for transplanting is sown after it has sprouted, and the crop is reaped in January. Rice Husking. — The fine rice that is exported, and that which is used by the high castes, is generally freed from the husk without boiling; but boiling is employed in the operation by the poor. Except a very few great families, almost all the zaminddrs and farmers beat in their own houses whatever rice is required for family use ; for they all rear this grain. The labour falls on the females, but most families in easy circumstances have bonds women. In the country, the wives of artists and tradesmen, who have no farms, purchase rice in the husk, and beat it out. What is intended for the consumption of large towns, for travellers, and for exportation, is purchased in the rough state by petty traders called bardiyd-bepdris, whose wives beat a great part of it, and hire other U STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. women to assist. Very little, therefore, is in fact beaten for hire, i-.d the rates vary a good deal. The beater always receives by weight a certain quantity of rough rice, and returns a certain quan tity of clean, taking for her profit whatever surplus there remains. The process of reaping and husking is the same as that which has been described in the Statistical Account of Patnd District. Names for Rice. — The names by which rice is distinguished in the various stages of its growth are as follow : — Bihan, the seed ; mori, the seedling; renrdjan, the young plant before flowering; phul-jana, the plant when in flower ; kachclui dhdn, the plant when in young ear ; pakd dhdn, ripe paddy ; usnd or joshdndah dhdn, paddy boiled for husking ; stikhd dhdn, paddy dried for husking ; cliaul, husked or cleaned rice ; bhdt, boiled rice. Preparations made from Rice, &c. — Bhdt is plain boiled rice ; khichri is rice and ddl cooked together ; khir is rice boiled in milk ; rasid or tnita bhdt is rice cooked wither or treacle. Dhdn- Idwd is obtained, like khai in Bengal, from paddy, by roasting it on heated sand. The sudden exposure to heat distends the grain, and causes it to burst the husk ; the grain is then rubbed on a sieve with the hand to remove the fragments of broken husk. Pharhi is husked rice roasted in the same way as dlidn-ldwd. Ldyi is prepared by boiling gur till it melts; then Idwd or pharhi is added, and the mixture made into balls. Chird is of two kinds, atwah and joshdnda/i. The former is made of paddy, which is first soaked, then partially dried and heated ; after which it is beaten, and then cleaned. For the latter, the paddy is boiled, and then dried in the sun, after which it is beaten and cleaned. Chaul-dtd is rice-flour, from which is made a kind of bread called roti. Pithd is made by boiling a mixture of flour and water. Larva is prepared by mixing flour with melted gur. Pud is made of flour mixed with gur and water, which is then cooked in ghi or melted butter. Paddy is also used in the manufacture of country spirit Other Cereals. — Next to rice, the most important crop is wheat (gahdm), which is sown in the months of September and October, and reaped in March. The average wheat-growing area of Gaya Dis trict was estimated in 1870 at 167,929 acres, producing 1,679,290 ~-*t, or 59,974 tons, of which about one-half is exported to other The greater part is sown broadcast. In good clay lands s not necessary ; and in some places, where the clay is t is considered prejudicial. In light soils irrigation is AGRICULTURE : CEREAL CROPS. 85 absolutely essential. When the land is not irrigated, the seed is sometimes sown in drills. There are two kinds of wheat, the red and the white. The former, which is a coarse grain, is generally grown on clay, and is called haralid or desi ; the latter, which grows on sandy soil, is much finer, and is called ddtidhid. Flour of two kinds is made from wheat When coarse, it is called did; from this the fine flour (maida) is prepared, of which roti or bread and various kinds of cakes are made. Wheat and barley are often sown intermixed, and reaped together. The mixed grain is called gujai, and is made into flour by the poorer classes. The stubble is trodden by cattle, and the straw (b/iusd) is used as fodder. Wheat is also grown with gram (but), and occa sionally with mustard (sarishd). Barley (jao) is grown alone, andalso mixed with wheat or with pulse. The area under barley cultivation, and the produce, is said to be the same as for wheat ; but no barley is exported. When mixed with gram or peas, the crop is called jau butd or jau kards. A coarse bread is made of barley. The grain is also parched and then pounded ; in which form, called satii, it is chiefly consumed by the poor labouring classes. Marud (Eleusine corocanus) and makai or Indian-corn are sown at the commencement of the rainy season, and cut at the end of it. The area said to be covered by each crop is 80,000 acres, yielding a produce of 240,000 mans, or 8786 tons. The former is generally transplanted, and forms a very considerable part of the food of the poorer classes. Both crops are reaped just below the ears, and the long stubble is afterwards cut for fodder. Marud is pounded into flour, from which coarse bread and satii are prepared. Indian-corn is also made into satii, and forms a very satisfying food. The ears, when green, are often cut and roasted. After these crops have been gathered in, the land is well irrigated, and a winter crop is raised from the same fields. Kodo, a species of Paspalum, is sown on poor land, early in the rains, and reaped in October. There is nothing peculiar in the sowing or reaping, but it is husked in mills made of earth. No other crop is sown afterwards, but arhar is frequently sown together with it The area covered by this crop is said to be equal to that under marud or Indian-corn. It is boiled like rice for consumption. Of the other cereals, oats (jai) is seldom grown. Janird, a species of Holcus, is generally seen sown round makai, as a sort of hedge. 86 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. China (Panicum miliaceum) is also grown in the District. It is often used at marriage ceremonies. Green Crops. — The great leguminous crop is khesdri (Lathyrus sativus). It is sometimes sown alone, but more generally among the rice stubble in October. It is gathered in February and March. It requires no care, and is a very common crop, covering at least half of the rice-growing area. The common people make ddl from it, by splitting the grain, and then boiling it. The flour is also cooked in oil or ghi, and the preparation is called bajkd. In Bengal, this pulse is considered very indigestible, but people in Behar thrive on it. Gram or but or channa (Cicer arietinum) is sown in October and reaped in March. The Collector reports that the area covered by this crop is very limited ; but I found it pretty plentiful on the high lands. In dry seasons, when a smaller area is covered by rice, gram takes the place of that staple. It is eaten in all stages of its growth. The young leaf is eaten as sag, and the grain is made into ddl and saiii. The other green crops are not considerable. They com prise urid (kutu ulunu), which is of two kinds, green and black ; sown in August, and reaped in October and November. Arhar and ram arhar (Cytissus cajan), are both sown in June ; but the former is reaped in December and January, and the latter in March and April. The latter, eaten as ddl, is preferred for food. Arhar and urid are frequently sown together. Peas or matar (Pisum sativum), masiiri (Cicer lens), sarishd or mustard (Sinapis dichotoma), and linseed, or tisi, are all sown in October and reaped in March. Mug (a variety of Phaseolus) and bheringi (Phaseolus aconitifolius) are sown in August and reaped in October. Kurthi (Dolichos biflorus) is sown in July and cut in November. Sim or beans are sown in August and gathered in December and January. Vegetables. — Kandd, ol, and rathdlu are varieties of yam ; the two first are sown in January and the last in June. They ripen in four or five months. Potatoes or diii are sown in June and are dug up in November and December. Sakar-kand or sweet potato (Convolvulus batatas) ripens a month earlier. Other vege tables are also grown, such as the cucumber or khira ; onion or piydu ; baign (Solanum melongena) ; pumpkin or kadii (Cucurbita leucanthema) ; cabbage or kobi ; rdm tori (Hibiscus esculentus) ; taroi (Arum peltatum of the Encyclopaedia) ; kareld (Momordica muricata of Wildenow) ; kheksd, pat war or palwal ; ldl-sdg ; mithi- sdg; sod-sdg, &c. Among condiments may be mentioned chillies A GRICUL TURE : FR Ul T- TREES ; CO TTON, ETC. 87 or surkh mirich ; ginger or adrakh ; coriander-seed or dhaniyd ; mint or pudind (Mentha viridis). Fruit-Trees. — Am or mango (Mangifera indica) is found all over the District, but the quality of the fruit is inferior. Guava, apple (seo), orange (uaraugi), and plantains (keld) are mentioned by the Collector as found only in the gardens of the rich. The following fruit-trees are mentioned by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton: — The mahud (Bassia latifolia) is found in all the southern jungles. The fruit is eaten readily by the lower classes, and also the flower. The wood is used for posts, doors, beams, &c., and the oil expressed from the kernels is used as a medicine, and for the lamp. The tubhd grown in Gay! has subcordate leaves, and a round fruit as large as a man's head, with an insipid juice. The salai (Boswellia thurifera) is common about Rajaulf. The pomegranate (andr), loquat, and peach are found in gardens. The pipal (Ficus reli- giosa) has been mentioned already (p. 26). The khejur palm (Phoenix sylvestris) is abundant everywhere, and is cut for its juice. The season is from the middle of October to March. The tdr or tdl tree (Borassus flabelliformis) is also common. Both these palms have been described in the Statistical Account of Patna District. The following list of fruit-trees has been given me by Mr Beames, as growing in the Nawddd Subdivision : — Amsuhri, aunrd (Phyllanthus emblica), bel (JEg\e marmelos), bhachd, blr (Ficus Bengalensis), bMd, bareni, chdmpa, kend, kalonda, kori, kundu, khair (Mimosa rubicaulis), kosum (Schleichera trijuga), kathal (Artocarpus integrifolia), kdgazi (Citrus medica) makar kaind, munga (Moringa pterygospermum), mahlabu, ndriyal or cocoa-nut (Cocos nucifera), and the tut or mul berry (Morus indica). Fibres. — Hemp (satt) and flax (pdt) are both grown in the Dis trict to a limited extent. They are sown in June and cut in October. Miscellaneous Crops. — Cotton (kapds) is grown in Gaya of three kinds, known as baraichd, rarhiyd, and jaswdr ; of which the last is only found in the Nawddd Subdivision. The area under cultivation has not been given by the Collector, but Mr Bourdillon estimated the area in the Jahdndbdd Subdivision at 2000 bighds. Cotton is also grown in the Nawddd Subdivision, and to the west of the District about Ddiidnagar. The whole area is probably not under 6000 bighds; but it is certainly less than it was in the beginning of the present century, when the cloth factories at Jahdndbdd, Ddiidnagar, and elsewhere created a demand for this crop. The following 88 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF CAVA DISTRICT. account of its cultivation is given by Mr Bourdillon : — " Cotton is of two kinds, known as baraichd and rarhiyd, the former of which is the better of the two, and is sown in June, while the latter is sown in October. Kcwdl land, or the black clay soil which bears the finest crops of rice, is that in which cotton thrives best Both kinds are sown broadcast, the baraicfid with the kharif, and the rarihyd with the rail crops. When these crops come to perfection, and are harvested, nothing is done to the cotton, which is allowed to remain untouched till January. In that month the crop has four waterings, and irrigation is also continued once a week for the next three months. After every third watering, the field is well hoed up, and manure is applied to the roots of the young plants. If the soil is very rank, weeding becomes necessary, and this, of course, increases the cost of production. Besides these operations, sifted ashes are plentifully sprinkled by hand over the field until the buds appear, when this form of manuring is stopped. About the end of April the cotton pods are ready for picking, which is ascertained by their bursting and showing the cotton inside. All the pods are picked by hand, andsplit open, and then laid out in the sun to dry. When sufficiently dry, the outer shell of the pod is removed, and the cotton is beaten with a light switch to clean it It is next placed in a charkni and combed, which operation separates the staple from the seed. This done, the cotton is laid by for future carding in the en suing cold weather, as during the rains it is not dry enough to stand the dhunethi. If the cotton is wanted for any fine work, the women of the household pick and repick it with the fingers, or the dhuniyd repeatedly cards it till it is as fine as down ; but ordinarily, the cotton, when it has undergone one carding at the hands of the dhuniyd, is ready for spinning into the coarse thread of ordinary use. From the hands of the dhuniyd, the cleaned cotton is returned into those of the women of the household, who spin it into thread ; an employment which, as has often been proved, is considered dero gatory by no caste of women. No part of the plant is without its use. The seed of the cotton, banaurd, is used as food by the very poor, and in a time of scarcity it is largely called into requisition ; but it is generally given to the cattle, either plain or in the form of oilcake (kalli). Oil is also expressed from the seeds, but being a dry oil, it is bad for machinery ; and if burned, soon clogs the wick. It is best adapted for making soap, a use to which it is freely put in America. The stalks are either used as fuel with the pods and AGRICULTURE: OIL-SEEDS. 89 leaves, or else they are soaked in water and supply a poor fibre from which very common rope is twisted. The thread spun by home industry is either offered for sale to the juldhas, or, as is more generally the practice, made over to them to weave into sdris and ilhutis. The thread is weighed on delivery, and the manufactured materials, when returned, are also carefully weighed. The weaver is paid so much a yard, varying from half an dnnd to two dnnds, as the wages (bdni) of his labour, the rate being determined by the quality of his work, which again depends partly on the skill of the weaver, and partly on the fineness of the thread. Large quantities of coarse thread are, however, offered for sale both to the juldhas and the public, at an average price of one rupee per kachchd or short ser. English thread at the price cannot compare with the finer skeins spun by hand ; and it is also somewhat singular that for the very coarse cloths, the rough country thread undersells anything Manchester can produce. English thread may be said to command the market for ordinary materials, but country thread is used for the finest and the coarsest fabrics. Middling English thread now sells at one rupee the ser, while country thread ranges from ten kanwas to two sers for the same money." Oil-Seeds. — Several kinds of plants are grown in Gaya District mainly for the expression of oil from their seeds, and oil-seed forms one of the chief articles of export from the District. There has been no estimate formed of the general area under oil-producing crops ; but Mr Bourdillon estimated the area devoted to oil-seeds in the Subdivision of Jahanabad at 34,822 acres, of which the greater proportion, viz., 29,302 acres, was in pargand Arwal. He gives the following account of the cultivation : — " Three varieties of the mustard plant — saris/id, rai, and sort — produce the well-known mustard or kariid oil. Castor-oil is obtained from the plant of the same name, rm; linseed-oil from the flax plant, tisi ; and/// (Sesamum orien tale) also yields a useful oil. Of plants not grown merely for oil, the poppy plant yields from its seeds a delicious and valuable oil ; and the nuts of the mahud and ktisiim, called respectively kwendh'i and barre, give sufficient oil to make its expression remunerative, and to assign the produce a place in the market. For private consumption, an inferior kind of oil is made by the poor from the seeds of the cotton plant, and from those of the common yellow roadside thistle (kataild). All these plants form part of the rabi crops, and ripen in three or four - - - 2 ^ . -rnuecxc * _., — . — . ~ _: -=r= 3: -ET_:nr: :i -t::ttv- tD n*e , - _ .. ;--— :-JZ. — - "rr^iTs i. cr u. .iL imiing die _.-.»ic .. -~tr. ~— — - r-Uiir^ re;^- ire is peiqui- _j.^ ^ -^.- ^i : . ~r ;.r =me le iiso icua»es . .-, ^ r _ Jj£X-.u .s TT-paied in a . - - aj_ - -X . 7TT£ lie wrOXE of the i /" AGRICULTURE: OPIUM. 91 household first separate the seeds from the pod, and dry them well in the sun. The next process is to fry them in a pot over the fire, the fuel of which is supplied by the pods and stalks of the plant, rapid steering being kept up to prevent their burning. When thoroughly dry, the seeds are put into a large pot with boiling water, and allowed to boil for some hours. This is done with great care, and the operation is fenced with superstitions, foremost among which is the belief that it is very unlucky to look into the pot When the boiling has continued for a sufficient time, the oil which rises to the surface is skimmed, and put into another pot, till no more oil is given out The oil already skimmed off is then again set upon the fire and stirred till all the water it contained is given off in steam, and the oil assumes a thick, opaque character. Cold-drawn castor-oil is made by expression only. These oils are used for burning, for food, and for external application. The best oil for burning is castor- oil, when properly prepared. Linseed oil is also largely used to make the confection called lattd ; the seed is also in request for chalni; and a favourite toilet-oil for women is made by soaking the seeds in water after burning them, and then skimming off the rising oil, which is afterwards perfumed. But the bazar article is much inferior to til, which is considered the best of all, as it bums slowly and brightly. For culinary purposes, poppy and mustard oil are most sought after ; while the latter is a favourite nostrum for ex ternal application in many diseases, as its action on the skin is stimulating." Opium is widely cultivated in Gayd District The cultivation, as is well known, is under Government management. The cultivators receive advances from Government, and are paid at a fixed rate for the amount of crude opium that they bring in. This rate varies with the quality as well as the quantity. The whole produce is taken by Government. The area under cultivation in Gayd cannot be given exactly, as the boundaries of the Opium Subdivisions are not conterminous with those of the District ; but the two Subdivisions of Tehtd and Gayd are almost co-extensive with Gayd District, and the sum of their areas will be but little in excess of the area required. In the year 1872-73, the total area under cultivation in these two Opium Subdivisions was 108,560 bighds, or 67,858 acres. The dam- dctta or amount of crude opium produced was 18,240 mans, or 668 tons ; the average produce per acre being about 1 1 sers, or 22 lbs. The total value of this produce to the cultivators was ,£364,800, 90 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. months, with the exception of the castor-oil plant, which, though sown in October, does not come to perfection till May. Their cultivation is conducted on the same broad principle, differing only in details, which I shall only sketch slightly. All are sown in con junction with other crops, and the yellow stalks of the mustard and long leaves of the linseed are familiar objects all over the country in the cold season. Being sown with the rabi crops, their treatment is much the same ; four ploughings and a couple of weedings, together with waterings if in dihas, or village land, is all the labour that is required till harvest-time. The three kinds of mustard, linseed, and the poppy, are always sown in miktii land, that is, land for which a money rent is paid; and the two former are grown in ordinary good rabi land, which pays from Rs. 4 to Rs. 8 per bi$ha. Reri (the castor-oil plant) and /// are generally sown in inferior lands, for which rent is paid in kind (bhaoli) ; til on high sandy and light soils, and reri in open land, though it is a common sight in the courtyard of almost every village hovel. Excluding the poppy, the oil from which has little influence on the cultivation of the plant, mustard is the most remunerative among the oil-seeds. From a calculation made by myself, 1 find the profits to be about Rs. 15 a bighd in a good year; while rice gives Rs. 10, and wheat Rs. S-8. At the same time, it is a very pre carious crop, being particularly liable to the attacks of insects; and it is the combination of these two qualities, its precariousness and its value in a good year, which causes it to be sown in nakdi land ; so that the proprietor, by exacting a heavy rent, secures the benefits without incurring the risks of the crop. Once gathered from the field, the seeds are, after a thorough drying, made over (with the exception of the reri) to the oilman. If oil is not wanted by the family, the seed is sold to the oilman outright, who manufactures the oil for sale. But the general custom is that which prevails with regard to every article of domestic use ; that is to say, the system of making over to the manufacturer the raw material, on the understanding that he will return a certain weight of the manufactured product The oil-maker receives the seed, which varies in amount according to the known percentage of oil therein, and returns a ser of oil, finding the mill and the labour of grinding. The bruised seeds are his perqui site, and are sold as oilcake for fodder for cattle ; he also receives 'wo pice for every $hdni or ser of oil. Castor-oil is prepared in a f "'~*nt way, and is always made at home. The women of the AGRICULTURE: OPIUM. 91 household first separate the seeds from the pod, and dry them well in the sun. The next process is to fry them in a pot over the fire, the fuel of which is supplied by the pods and stalks of the plant, rapid steering being kept up to prevent their burning. When thoroughly dry, the seeds are put into a large pot with boiling water, and allowed to boil for some hours. This is done with great care, and the operation is fenced with superstitions, foremost among which is the belief that it is very unlucky to look into the pot. When the boiling has continued for a sufficient time, the oil which rises to the surface is skimmed, and put into another pot, till no more oil is given out. The oil already skimmed off is then again set upon the fire and stin-ed till all the water it contained is given off in steam, and the oil assumes a thick, opaque character. Cold-drawn castor-oil is made by expression only. These oils are used for burning, for food, and for external application. The best oil for burning is castor- oil, when properly prepared. Linseed oil is also largely used to make the confection called lattd ; the seed is also in request for chatni; and a favourite toilet-oil for women is made by soaking the seeds in water after burning them, and then skimming off the rising oil, which is afterwards perfumed. But the bdzdr article is much inferior to //'/, which is considered the best of all, as it burns slowly and brightly. For culinary purposes, poppy and mustard oil are most sought after ; while the latter is a favourite nostrum for ex ternal application in many diseases, as its action on the skin is stimulating." Opium is widely cultivated in Gayd District The cultivation, as is well known, is under Government management. The cultivators receive advances from Government, and are paid at a fixed rate for the amount of crude opium that they bring in. This rate varies with the quality as well as the quantity. The whole produce is taken by Government. The area under cultivation in Gayd cannot be given exactly, as the boundaries of the Opium Subdivisions are not conterminous with those of the District ; but the two Subdivisions of Tehtd and Gayd are almost co-extensive with Gayd District, and the sum of their areas will be but little in excess of the area required. In the year 1872-73, the total area under cultivation in these two Opium Subdivisions was 108,560 bighds, or 67,858 acres. The dam- detta or amount of crude opium produced was 18,240 titans, or 668 tons; the average produce per acre being about n sets, or 22 lbs. The total value of this produce to the cultivators was ,£364,800, 92 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. The value to Government after manufacture is, of course, much greater. The cultivation of opium and the subsequent processes of its preparation are fully described in the Statistical Account of the District of Patnd. Indigo. — There is but one indigo factory under European man agement in the District of Gayd, at Arwal, on the Son river. The whole area under cultivation is only 2535 bighds, with an average annual out turn of 420 factory mans. The system of cultivation is exactly simi lar to that which is described in the Statistical Account of Shdhdbdd District. The Tikdrf Rajd has attempted to grow indigo on his estates, but only in a very small way, and the experiment has not proved a success. For some unexplained reason, the dye here can not be brought to such a state of perfection as it attains north of the Ganges ; and even in Dr Buchanan-Hamilton's time, the cultiva tion was said to be on the decline. Sugar-Cane (Katdri). — The following account of sugarcane culti vation is condensed from the Collector's description. Any good high land is selected for this crop. The planting season is in February ; the cane is cut into pieces of a foot or a foot and a half long, and planted in rows, at intervals of two feet between each piece. When the plant begins to sprout, it is well watered periodically, and the sur rounding earth is loosened. Each plant grows into a cluster of canes, which become ready for cutting in January. The area under sugar-cane cultivation is estimated by the Collector at 12,954 acres. To extract the juice (ras), the cane is cut into lengths, and ground in .a mill worked by bullocks, called a kalhii. This juice is poured into large iron boilers shaped like a tortoise-shell, and then boiled ; the only fuel used being the cane-leaves and the dried stalks from which the juice has been extracted. When the juice thickens, it is poured into small pots, and exposed to the air to harden. This mix ture is called rdwd, nib, or gur. From this gi/r are prepared chhod or molasses, shakar or red sugar, bhurd or yellow sugar, chlm or pounded sugar, and misri or the best sugar. To make refined sugar or chini, the crude sugar (gur) made into large cakes is sold to the sugar manufacturers (halwdi). The cakes are broken into small pieces and boiled with water. When the mixture thickens, it is poured into large earthen tubs (ndd), each with a hole at the bottom, through which the molasses (chhod) run into another receptacle, leaving the half refined sugar behind. This is spread on mats and dried in the sun. When dry, an aquatic plant is placed with the AGRICULTURE : PAN; CHILLIES, ETC. 93 sugar, and the whole is trodden under foot All impurities are ab sorbed by the weed, and the refined sugar, cfiini, alone remains. To convert cfiini into misri, the powdered sugar is again boiled, and put into earthen cups. When dry, the cups are broken and the cake- sugar is ready for use. A coarser sugar called shakar is made in the following manner : — The rdwd or thickened juice is put into cloth bags, which are placed between two planks and pressed with stones. The fluid which is expressed is called chhod, and the dry matter that remains in the bag is shakar. The former is mixed with tobacco for smoking ; the latter is used for making sweetmeats. Shakar is converted into bhurd by boiling and afterwards pressing it in an iron pot This preparation is used for making sharbat, and is also eaten with curds. Pan or Betel- Leaf is cultivated in the Nawidi Subdivision at the villages of Tungf, Deodha, and Dhola ; also at Deo, but only to a limited extent. For export to Calcutta and Benares, it is packed on bullocks, who, on account of the heat, only travel by night. I could get no trustworthy estimate of the extent of this trade. The manner of cultivation is much the same as that described in the Statistical Account of the Twenty-four Parganas (vol. L p. 146). Dr Buchanan-Hamilton says that the betel-leaf of Magadha is con sidered superior to all others, but that only very little is cultivated. Tobacco is hardly grown at all in the District of Gayd. Chillies are widely cultivated in the Aurangabdd Subdivision, and also in the south of Jahanabad. Mr Bourdillon says, " The cultiva tion requires care and unvarying industry. The land in which this pepper is to be sown is first carefully spade-dug, and the clods broken up by beaters. Small beds (kiydri), five feet square, are then prepared as in the cultivation of the poppy, and the seeds of the pepper are sown broadcast in June. A basketful of ashes is then scattered over each bed, and the whole copiously watered. On the ninth or tenth day the seedlings appear; and in the next month, when they are a span high, they are all transplanted into land which has been well ploughed and manured with cow-dung, sheep-droppings, and ashes. The plants are planted, four together, in small holes dug with a trowel, kiirpi; fresh beds are made, and the field is well irrigated. When the surface of the earth is dry, it is lightly broken with the hoe, ashes are thrown upon the roots of the plants, and after some ten days, the whole field is thoroughly dug up with koddlis. By this time the plants are tolerably hardy, and after two \L ACCOUNT CT OF GAYA.1 : the most southern portion of the tween 240 17' and 25° 19' north it longitude. It contains an area, sioner in 1875, of 4712 square i S72, the area is given as 4718 nere transferred to Hazaribagh . as returned by the Census of f town is Gaya ; which adjoins, ivil Station and administrative iiiefiy derived from the following s of Questions, furnished by Mr V. Answers drawn up by Mr Merring- lor of the District). (2) Dr Martin's 1, collected by Dr Buchanan-Hamil- e Government of India. (3) General .1871). (4) Report on the Bengal subsequent District Compilation by furnished by the Board of Revenue. d by the Surveyor-General. (7) ient of Bengal, of the Commissioner f Gaya District. (8) Special statis- '.eneral of Jails and the Director- ts by the Inspectors-General of ruction. (10) Annual Reports on \nnual Reports of the Meteoro- lished by Dr J. Russell, &c, &c. ligo Factory, and many native 94 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. more flushings are left to themselves. Blossoms appear in October or November, and picking commences in January. The yield of a bighd in a good year is twenty mans of fresh pods. These are spread out to dry in the sun, and form a striking object on the village threshing-floor from their brilliant crimson colour. Exposure to the sun, from the drying up of the oleaginous principle in the fruit, re duces its weight by 75 per cent., so that twenty mans of fresh chillies fall to five mans of dried fruit. The selling price of the fruit is regu lated by this fact ; for while fresh chillies sell at from 45 to 60 pounds for the shilling, the same money will purchase only from 12 to 15 pounds of the dried pod. The net profits (exclusive of rent, for the land is always nakdi) from a bighd of pepper land are about Rs. 13 to Rs. 14, or from £\, 6s. to £i, 8s. The trade is exclusively with Patnd, and is conducted through local dealers, who make advances to the cultivators on exactly the same principle as that adopted by the Opium Department." Area; Out-turn of Crops, &c. — The District of Gaya was sur veyed in the year 1843-44. Its area, as then ascertained, was, according to the Collector, 3,437,881 acres, 1 rood, and 30 poles; but as all the papers in the office were burned during the Mutiny of 1857, more detailed information is unattainable. According to the printed statistics of the Board of Revenue for 1868-69, the area of the District was 5446 square miles, of which 3978 were cultivated, 489 cultivable, and 979 uncultivable. The actual area, according to the Census Report of 1872,154718 square miles. The area under each crop, as estimated by the Collector, has been already given under the specific headings ; but the untrustworthy nature of such statis tics has been shown by the Commissioner of the Division in his Annual Report for the year 1872-73. In the years 1870, 1871, and 1872, three different methods were tried for ascertaining the waste lands in Patnd District ; and the results varied between 72,000 acres and 229,000 acres. To reproduce such statistics is simply to per petuate error. As a rough approximation, the Collector estimates that one-fifth of the total area is uncultivated. Until the officers engaged on the Road Cess have completed their labours, more accu rate information is unattainable. Of the cultivated area, the Collector estimates that 65 per cent. is grown with rice ; 10 per cent. with barley; 7 per cent. with peas ; 5 per cent. with wheat ; 5 per cent. with grain ; and 8 per cent. with masuri, a kind of pulse. A fair out turn of paddy or unhusked rice from an acre of good land would be DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 95 thirty hundredweight, value Rs. 27, or £2, 14s. ; from inferior land the out-turn would be eighteen hundredweight, value Rs. 16-3-4, or £i, 12s. 5d. ; if khesdri is sown among the stubble, the out-turn from that crop would be six and a half hundredweight, value Rs. 9, or 1 8s. The out-turn of wheat or barley, and the value of the crop, is much the same as in the case of paddy ; but the expense incurred in cultivation is less, and the net profit to the cultivator consequently higher. Of the other crops, poppy and sugar-cane yield the best profits. Condition of the Cultivators. — According to the Collector (who has certainly not under-estimated the size of the following holdings), a holding above thirty-seven acres in extent, or fifty local bighds, would be considered a very large farm ; and anything below seven and a half acres, or ten local bighds, a very small one. A fair- sized comfortable holding for a husbandman cultivating his own lands would be a farm of about twenty-two or twenty-three acres, or thirty local bighds ; the majority of holdings are of much smaller extent. A single pair of oxen cannot plough more than four acres. A small holding of five acres would not make a peasant so well off as a respectable retail shopkeeper in a village, nor would it enable him to live as well as a man earning Rs. 8, or 16s. a month in wages. As has been already pointed out, the condition of the cultivators is not an enviable one. Fully 75 per cent. of them are in debt. They are generally mere tenants-at-will, not more than one in a thousand having, or even knowing of, any right of occupancy. Village officials, however, such as the chankiddr and gordit, whose office is generally hereditary, own, occupy, and cultivate their own lands, from which no one would attempt to oust them. The Domestic Animals of this District consist of bullocks, buffaloes, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, fowls, ducks, pigeons, dogs, cats, and country " tats " or ponies. Those used in agriculture are bul locks and buffaloes. The animals reared for food or as articles of trade are ponies, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, fowls, ducks, and pigeons. Beef is only eaten by a small number of Musalmdns, who can afford it, goats by both Hindus and Muhammadans, fowls by Musalmdns only, and pigs by Dosddhs, Chamars, and other very low castes. The value of an ordinary cow is about Rs. 15, or £1, 10s. ; but a really good cow, yielding from eight to ten sen of milk a day, will be sold for fromRs. 50 to Rs. 60, or from £$ to £6. An ordinary pair of bullocks or buffaloes are worth about Rs. 25, or £2, 10s. ; a score 96 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. of grass-fed sheep, Rs. 20, or £2 ; a score of kids six months old, Rs. 12, or £1, 4s. ; a score of full-grown pigs, Rs. 60, or £6 and upwards ; while a country pony can be bought for from Rs. 22-8 to Rs. 30, or from £2, 5s. to £3. The Agricultural Implements in use in this District are— (1) Hal or plough. This consists of four parts — the hal proper, or triangular piece of wood into which the iron (phdr) which cuts the soil is fixed ; to this is fitted the wooden handle (lagnd) which directs the plough, and the pole (karis) which fits into the centre of the yoke (jiidth). The yoke rests on the animals' necks in front of the hump, and is kept in its place by pieces of leather (joti) which pass round the neck. This implement, which is worth about Rs. 1-8, or 3s., is superior to the plough (ndngal) of Bengal, which is made entirely of wood. A pair of oxen will work half a day ; and if the cultivator owns only one pair, he will join company with one of his neighbours in a similar position. (2) Chauki, or harrow, a wooden instrument for breaking the clods, is generally drawn by four bullocks by means of iron chains (za/tgir), which are attached to the yokes. (3) The tdnrd, a hollow bamboo about five feet long, with a wooden mouth piece, is fixed in the hal for sowing seed in drills. (4) The hasud, used for cutting crops, is a curved iron instrument, with a wooden handle about a foot long. (5) The koddli has an iron blade like a spade, from twelve to fourteen inches long, and from eight to ten inches in breadth. There is a hole at one end, into which a wooden handle about two and a half feet long is fitted. (6) The phaord is shaped like a koddli, but is somewhat larger. (7) The khurpd or khiirpl is a small iron instrument used for weeding, with a blade from three to four inches square, and a handle about six inches long turned over at one end. (8) The tangd or axe is used for felling timber. (9) The tangi is a smaller axe of the same sort. (10) The kaintd, used by builders, is like a koddli, only the blade is narrower and thicker, (11) The rdmd is a long thin pole of pointed iron, used in transplanting. (12) The khanti has a small iron blade, with a long bamboo handle. It is used for cutting open the reservoirs (dhars), when water is required for cultivation. For the cultivation of four acres of land, the following cattle and implements are neces sary : — A pair of bullocks, a plough, yoke, &c., a clod-crusher with chains, two hoes (koddli), two reaping hooks, and a tdnrd. The cost of these would represent a capital of about Rs. 32-8, or £3, 5s., of- which Rs. 25, or £2, 10s., would be spent on the oxen. RATES OF W AGES. g7 Wages. — Wages for labour are generally paid in kind at a fixed rate, which never changes. As to money wages, the Collector be lieves that there has been no variation for the last twenty years, but that before that date they were less by 25 per cent, than now. He gives as the money wage of a bricklayer or day-labourer, 3d. ; and of a smith or carpenter, 4^d. per diem. The labourers on the S6n Canal works, and those employed by Europeans, are paid at a higher rate. It is interesting to compare these figures with those of sixty years ago given by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton. At that time the usual daily allowance for a labourer engaged in ploughing was 3 scrs of grain, or in some places from i£ to 2 paisa, with half a ser of the unboiled porridge called satu. This wage, representing in English money about one penny, was earned by nine hours' work. The annual wages earned by a poor family of three persons used to be Rs.26-8, or £2, 13s., of which sum the labourer would (allowing for sickness) get Rs. 1 4, or jQ 1 , 8s. ; his wife, by reaping, weeding, and transplanting, Rs. 8, or 1 6s. ; and an old person, or a boy or girl able to tend cattle, Rs. 4-8, or 9s. One shilling represented 78 lbs. of maize, or other coarse but wholesome grain ; therefore the daily allowance of grain for a family of three persons was about n J lbs.; and the whole living expenses of the family, including clothes, would have to be met from this sum. An estimate of the earnings of a family from Nawdda, where wages were still lower, gave as the annual gain represented in money, Rs. 22-1-6, or £2, 4s. 2^d. The following comparison with the price of labour in Bengal was furnished by the native Officer of the neighbouring Subdivision of Behar : — " It is a matter of wonder for what small wages the coolies labour here. For what we pay six dnnds, or oxl., in Eastern Bengal, and eight dnnds, or is., in Calcutta, for that we pay three to four pice, or about id., in Behar. Then the amount of work a coolie in this part of the country performs is something wonderful when compared with that in Lower Bengal. Carpenters, masons, weavers, are paid at equally cheap rates. A carpenter who here gets two dnnds, or 3d. per day, is sure to get six dnnds, or gd. in Calcutta, Bardwdn, or Dacca. A mason who here gets four dnnds, or 6d. per day, gets 12 dnnds, or is. 6d. in Calcutta, for work of equal excellence ; so do the weavers, potters, &c. The lower classes of labourers, such as coolies ploughing in the fields, digging earth, or carrying grain, are paid not more than three to four pice, or about VOL. XII. F 98 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. id. a day, or else 5 lbs. of paddy or janiri when they are paid in kind, as is generally the case." Prices. — According to the figures furnished by the Collector for the years 1859, i860, and 1870, prices appear to have fallen of late years. In 1859, the best cleaned rice was selling at Rs. 2-3-4 a man, or 6s. oid. per cwt. ; common rice at Rs. 1-15-6 a man, or 5s. 4d. per cwt. ; fine paddy at Rs. 1-5-3 a nian, or 3s. ;d. per cwt. ; com mon paddy at R. 1 a man, or 2s. 8Jd. per cwt. Next year, prices had risen; the best cleaned rice was selling at Rs. 2-12 a man, or 7s. 6d. per cwt. ; common rice at Rs. 2-8 a man, or 6s. iod. per cwt. ; fine paddy at Rs. 1-10-8 a man, or 4s. 6d. per cwt. ; and common paddy at Rs. 1-8 a man, or 4s. id. per cwt. In 1870, the rates were: — for best rice, Rs. 1-10 a man, or 4s. 5c!. per cwt. ; common rice, Rs. 1-6 a man, or 3s. 9d. per cwt. ; best paddy at R. 0-14 a man, or 2s. 4|d. per cwt.; common paddy at R. 0-12 a man, or 2s. o£d. per cwt, ; unshelled barley was selling at the same price as common rice ; Indian-corn at R. 1 a man, or 2s. 8|d. per cwt. ; and wheat of the first quality at Rs. 2 a man, or 5 s. 5d. per cwt. During the height of the famine of 1866, best rice sold at Rs. 5-5-4 a man, or 14s. 7d. per cwt. ; common rice at Rs. 5 a man, or 13s. 7d. per cwt.; best paddy at Rs. 3-1-3 a man, or 8s. 4|d. per cwt. ; common paddy at Rs. 2-13-9 a ma'h or 7s- 9(1- Per cwt- j wheat of the first quality at the same price as common rice. In comparing these prices with the highest obtained during the famine of 1873-74, we find that in June 1874 common rice was selling at Rs. 4-9-2 a man, or 12s. 8d. per cwt. But it has been pointed out by the Commissioner of the Patnd Division, that nothing can be more misleading than these famine prices, as in the District of Gayd, where the bhdoli system of payment in kind prevails, the market price of grain is no index to the real pressure of want. This was proved by the fact, that in this District common rice rose to a price which (except in isolated instances) it never reached on the other side of the Ganges, where distress was far more severe. For the year 18 14, Dr Buchanan-Hamilton gives a table of prices obtaining at Patnd, as an illustration of the whole District of Behar. From this it appears that the prices of all food-grains, with the exception of wheat, were but slightly lower sixty years ago than they were in 1871 and 1872; but that wheat, owing perhaps to an increased exportation, has become considerably dearer. The Local Weights and Measures are as follow: — The > WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 99 standard man or maund of 82 lbs. avoirdupois, is only used for wholesale transactions. The weights for retail-dealing vary with the article, and frequently with the locality. Gold, silver, and precious stones are weighed as in Bengal ; $dhdn = 1 rati; 8 ra/i = 1 mdsha; and 12 mdshas=i told or 180 grains troy. The mart or maund always contains 40 sers, but the ser varies in weight. The standard ser contains 20 ganda, and is equal to 2 lbs. o oz. and 14)53- drs. The following local weights have been furnished by Mr Beames of Nawadd, and the principle of his remarks will apply to the whole District The ser of 21 gandas, i.e., of 84 told weight, is confined to Nawddd. The ser of 14 gandas {i.e., of 56 told weight) is used in Wdrisalfganj, and Pakrfbardnwan. The ser of 13 gandas prevails in Tiingf and Narhdt, and the ser of 12 gandas in Rdjauli, Kddirganj, Ndmdarganj, and in most other marts of the Subdivision. The dif ference in these weights is adjusted by the fact that a purchaser at Nawddd, under the 21 ganda system, will get only 20 sers of rice for a rupee, while at another place, under the 14 ganda system, he will get 30 sers. The value of any ser in English weights can be readily ascertained ; a ganda always equals 4 folds, and the told is the weight of a rupee, or 180 grains troy. The following deno minations are in general use : — 4 chhatdks = 1 poyd; 4 poyd = 1 ser; 5 sers = 1 pasuri; and 8 pasuri = 1 man. A chhatdk may contain Sb 5. 3l. 3b or 3 tolas. Local measures, according to Mr Beames, vary still more. In the town of Nawddd alone there are four different kinds of yards (gaz) : — (1) = 3 feet 4 inches ; (2) = 3 feet 3* inches ; (3) = 3 feet 3^ inches ; and (4) = 3 feet 4J inches. Besides these there are, in different parts of the Subdivision, yards of the eight following descriptions: — (1) = 3 feet 2| inches; (2) - 3 feet 3 inches ; (3) = 3 feet 3raff inches ; (4) =3 feet 3? inches; (5) =3 feet 3^ inches; (6) =3 feet 3J inches ; (7) = 3 feet 4^s inches ; and (8) = 3 feet 5* inches. The standard yard adopted by the East India Company was 3 feet 4 inches. The yard or gaz is always divided into 16 giralis or 2 hdths. A hath = 4 mti/hi or fists ; and a muthi = 4 anguli or finger's breadths. Variations in the size of the girah or anguli cause the difference in the length of the gaz. For long distances, 5 hdth or cubits = 1 bans ; 20 bans = 1 rasi or 150 feet ; and 60 rasi = 1 kos. Square measure is reckoned in bighds, kdthds, &c. ; and the size of the bighd depends on the length of its side, or of the original bans or lagi from which it is constructed. This lagi varies in size, but is ioo STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. always the side of a dur ; 20 dur = 1 kdthd, and 20 kdthds com pose the bighd. The standard bighd is 14,400 square feet, or about one-third of an acre ; and the standard lagi, therefore, is 6 feet. But the Government lagi in use for opium lands measures 8 feet 3 inches. This makes a bighd equal to 27,225 square feet, or rather more than three-fifths of an acre. The local bighd varies for dif ferent crops, but the most common length for a lagi is 7 A feet, or 5 hdths of 18 inches each. This gives a bighd of 22,500 square feet, or rather more than half an acre. Time is subdivided as follows : — 60 pal = 1 danda or 24 minutes ; 7 \ dandas- 1 prahar or 3 hours ; 8 prahar s- 1 din or day ; 15 dins = r pakha; 2 pakhas = 1 mds or month ; and 12 or 13 mds = 1 sdl or year. In common talk, the pahar is divided into four ghari or ghantd. Spare Land. — With the exception of the barren hills, there is now but little spare land in Gayd District. Such spare land as there is, lies chiefly to the south, where the jungle has not yet been entirely cleared. The Collector estimates the uncultivated area at one-fifth of the total area of the District, or about 943 square miles ; but much of this amount is uncultivable. The following is Dr Buchanan-Hamilton's estimate for the six police circles of Nawddd, Hiildsganj, Jahdndbdd, Ddiidnagar, and Arwal, which con stitute 3089 square miles of the present District of Gayd. The calculations were made at the beginning of the century, but there are no later statistics of any value. Area occupied by rivers, tanks, marshes, and watercourses, 49 square miles ; by hills, 94 square miles; altogether unfit for the plough or waste, 773 square miles; total, 916 square miles, or about three-tenths of the total area of the six circles. Of this uncultivated area, 455 square miles, or one- half, was cultivable ; and the remaining 456 square miles, or rather more than one-seventh of the total area, was pure waste. LandTenures — Intermediate Tenures. — InBehar,asinBengal, a longer or shorter chain of intermediate landholders is generally to be found. At one end of the chain stands the zaminddr or mdlik, who holds the estate from Government under the Permanent Settlement, and pays his land-tax direct to the Government Treasury. At the other end is the actual cultivator, called the jot-ddr or Msht-kdr. The following are the intermediate tenures which exist between the mdlik and the actual cultivator : — ( 1 ) Mukarrari, which is a lease from the mdlik at a fixed rental, after the payment of an installation fee called zar-nazardnd. This lease is either permanent, in which case LAND TENURES. 101 it is called istimrdri or bafarzanddn (from generation to generation); or it is only granted for the life of the leaseholder, in which case it is called hin hiydtl. In addition to the zar-nazardnd, the lease holder has sometimes to pay an advance (zar-i-peshgi)»as security for the payment of the rent. (2) Dar mukarrari is an exactly similar lease to the above, granted by the mukarrariddr to a third party. The holder of any of the preceding permanent tenures may either culti vate the land with his own labour, in which case the holding is called nij-jot ; or with hired labour, in which case it is called sir ; or he may make over the land to another for a fixed term, which gives rise to the following subordinate tenures. (3) Thikd or ijdrd, the common lease for a definite term. The holder of a thikd obtains the estate either from the mdlik or the mukararriddr. He has to pay an advance, zar-ipcshgi, on getting possession, and afterwards a fixed rent till the expiration of the term for which the lease has been taken. The thikdddr or ijdrdddr takes the place of the proprietor, who can only interfere on the ground that his ultimate rights are being prejudiced, or on the leaseholder failing to pay the fixed rent. (4) Katkind is a tenure similar to a thikd, granted by the thikdddr to a sub-lessee, called katkindddr. (5) Dar-katkind, a subordinate tenure held from the katkindddr in the same way as the kindddr holds from the thikdddr. Below the dar-katkindddr comes the jot- ddr or actual cultivator. Cultivators' Holdings. — The jotddr or cultivator is almost in variably a mere tenant-at-will. His tenure is either khudkdsht or pdhikdsht, according as he cultivates land situated within the village in which he lives, or land of a different village. Again, the tenure is either called rtakdi, when the rent is paid in money ; or, as is more commonly the case, bhdoli, when the produce of the fields is divided between the landlord and the tenant. Bhdoli tenure is either ddnd- bandi, in which the probable out-turn of the crop is estimated, and at once apportioned between the landowner and the cultivator ; oxa^ar- bdtdi, in which case the division takes place after the crop has been cut and stored. There is some uncertainty as to the present proportions between nakdi and bhdoli tenures. The bhdoli tenure was formerly almost universal ; but the increased competition for land tends to convert bhdoli land into nakdi. We find now that lands in the vicinity of towns and important marts are held on short leases, for which a fixed money rent is paid ; while in the more rural tracts the system of dividing the crops still prevails. The reason of this is obvious. io2 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. A proprietor who gives out his land on the bhdoli tenure can only get a fixed percentage of the crop ; but on the nakdi system, a brisk and increasing demand for land will raise the rent by competition, and give a yearly increasing profit to the proprietor. Besides lands in the vicinity of towns, fields on which certain special crops are grown are always leased out on the nakdi system. Of these, sugar cane, cotton, poppy, and bhddai crops are the most noticeable. All lands, also, planted with vegetables, spices, pepper, oil-seeds, and safflower (kusum) are nakdi ; while the larger area, sown with wheat, rice, barley, &c., is generally, but by no means invariably, bhdoli. Mr Bourdillon states that in the Jahdndbdd Subdivision nakdi tenures are exceedingly uncommon. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton estimated that only one-sixteenth of all the estates held by the Tikarf family were nakdi. In the south of the District, also, the bhdoli tenure pre vails ; but for the whole District, I would estimate the proportion of nakdi lands to bhdoli, as three to five. Nakdi tenures are of two kinds : chikath, or temporary ; and shikmi, or permanent. The former is the more common of the two, and the usual term of the lease varies from three to nine years. The bhdoli tenure is either ddndbandi or agar-batdi. In the former case, the crops are assessed just before they come to maturity by the mdlik's amin, assisted by the village accountant (patwdri) and the bailiff (giimdshtd). The culti vator, of course, suffers from the corruptness of these agents, who either estimate the produce as high as they can, or else demand fees for making a fair estimate. In either case, the cultivator gets much less than half of the actual produce. Under the agar-batdi system, the actual out-turn is divided between the landlord and tenant ; but after the division is completed, the cultivator has to pay a number of the illegal cesses (dbwdb) which have been already described on pp. 70-72 ; and eventually he will only secure from five to six sixteenths of the produce. In the cases of new land, which has not been previously cultivated, the cultivator's share is higher, and he will obtain from nine to twelve sixteenths of the crop. But this profit is only temporary. In a few years, when the land has been improved by the exertions of the labourer, the landlord demands the usual share of the produce ; and if the tenant objects to pay, he is ousted without mercy, for a new tenant is readily obtainable. Revenue-Free Tenures. — Besides the above-mentioned tenures, rent-free or Idkhirdj tenures are common in the District of Gay£ Dr Buchanan-Hamilton estimated that 37! per cent. of the tenures GO VERNMEA' T EST A TES. 1 03 in Behar were free of revenue. Of these, most have been resumed ; but the following descriptions of tenure still exist: — (1) Altamghd; lands given in perpetuity as a reward for conspicuous military ser vices. (2) Jdgir; lands granted to military officers. (3) Khdrij- jamd ; lands given to mdliks in reward for special services. (4) Madfi; lands of which the rent has been remitted. (5) Nankar ; lands granted for maintenance. (6) Mdlikdnd; lands granted to the original proprietors, who refused to take the settlement from Government. (7) Madat-mdsh ; lands given to some favourite for table expenses. (8) Khairdt ; lands given for the support of religious persons. (9 and 10) Brahmottar, Vishnuparit, and Sivottar ; lands given for Hindu religious purposes, (11) Nidz-Durgah ; for the protection of the tomb of a Musalmdn saint. (12) Tdzidddri ; for the expenses of the tdzid in the Muharram festival. (13) Ghdtwdli; lands assigned for the maintenance of guards on mountain passes. (14) Zamin Jnglis ; lands given to soldiers for military service. (15) Jdgir pdsbdn ; lands given in every village to the chaukiddr and gordit in payment for their services. Government Estates. — The following account of the Government estates in the Nawadd Subdivision is given by Mr Beames, Deputy Collector, in his Annual Report for the year 1874-75 : — "The Govern ment estates are twenty-four in number, viz., Chakmariburia, Karhari, Dabur, Kakandua, Paharpur, Baldrii, Siiampiir, Jaipur, Barsona, Barahf, Barahi-khiird, Lodipur-Gangla, Hamza-bharath, Mahsayf- Partappiir, Partappur-sdnf, Kazfchak, Abdulpur-sadik, Phuldlha, Barapanariya, Jhakaur-kakaur, Zeapiir, Sonsihan, Dumoul-khurd, Sakera. Many of these estates are very jungly; all are badly culti vated and greatly neglected, so much so, that in passing along the road it is possible to distinguish, from this circumstance alone, those estates which belong to Government. The explanation as signed is, that the mustdjir or farmer fears to improve the land, lest at the expiration of his settlement the rent should be enhanced. As in ordinary estates the cultivator carries his complaint against the leaseholder to the proprietor, so in these Government estates the cultivator carries his complaints against the farmer to Government ; and the complaints of oppression in these cases are, at times, nume rous. To the north, west, south, and centre of the Subdivision, all the estates are of the ordinary kind, and need no further mention ; but on the east there is a resumed ghdtwdli tenure named Kawakol, which calls for particular mention on account of several points of 104 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF CAVA DISTRICT. interest which it presents. At the eastern end of the Subdivision is a nook in the hills, a sort of cul-de-sac or empasse, which is entered from the west, and is completely closed by lofty hills from 500 to 1000 feet high on the north, east, and south. In this nook, which is called tdluk kawdkol, is a piece of country fifteen miles long, varying in breadth from three to five miles, and quite different in appearance to the rest of the District, which is flat and open. It forms a resumed ghdtwdli tenure, which in 1821 was settled with Kam Sinh and Khusdil Sinh, as an istimrdri or perpetual mukarrari, inalienable without the express consent of Government, and not saleable for arrears of rent. In case the proprietors failed to pay the rent, it was competent to the Government to take it out of their hands and lease it to other persons, the mukarrar'uidrs in that case to get any surplus of the revenue above the amount due to Govern ment. This mahdl was settled at an annual rent of ^2274, in cluding phulkar, bankar, &c, of all the lands therein, excepting Idkhirdj lands, zaminddri, rdhdari chaukis, salt, abkdris, &c. On the death of the persons already mentioned, the settlement-holder was chosen by the Governor-General from their relatives, and made manager in behalf of the other members of the family. The present part-owner and manager fell into debt, and mortgaged his interest in the estate to a neighbouring landowner. Upon the debt becoming overdue, the matter was brought before the Civil Court, and the mortgagee received a decree for part of the estate ; but in trying to take possession, an affray occurred in which a man was killed. The mortgagor contends that none of the estate being alienable, the decree of the Civil Court is void ; and the matter is still subjudicc." Wards' Estates. — In this District there is one small estate under the Collector, and a portion of the Kanauli estate under the Court of Wards. This estate was taken charge of under Section 12, Act XL. of 1858. The annual gross rental is ^496, 6s., and the Government revenue is ^217, 16s. Rates of Rent. — The following rates are compiled from a list submitted by the Collector to the Government of Bengal on the 15th August 1872. The size of the bighd is 27,225 square feet, or five eighths of an acre : — Early rice land, on which an after-crop of pulses, vegetables, oil-seeds, &c, is grown : R. 1-4 to Rs. 6-6 per bighd, or 4s. to 19s. ijd. per acre. Late rice, generally a single crop, pays the same rent as early rice. Food-grains, viz., wheat, peas, masuri, &c. : R. 1 to Rs. 6 a bighd, or 3s. iAd. to 19s. i|d. an acre. ROTATION OF CROPS; IRRIGATION, ETC. 105 Garden land : R. 1-8 to Rs. 5 a bighd, or 4s. Qd. to 16s. an acre. Castor-oil seeds: R. 1 to Rs. 4 a big/id, or 3s. i|d. to 12s. 9d. an acre. Cotton: R. 1-12 to Rs. 5 a bighd, or 5s. 6d. to 16s. an acre. Lands on which pulses are grown : R. 1-8 to Rs. 5 a bighd, or 4s. od. to 1 6s. an acre. Sugar-cane : Rs. 3 to Rs. 10 a bighd, or 9s. 6d. to j£i, 12s. an acre. Opium : Rs. 2-8 to Rs. 8 a bighd, or 8s. to jQi, 5s. 6d. an acre. The operation of the Rent Law (Act X. of 1859) has not resulted in any general enhancement of rents in Gayi District. Rotation ok Crops (to quote Mr Bourdillon) " is thoroughly understood by the natives. The following is the rotation usually adopted : — In lands which grow a bhatiai crop, consisting of Indian- corn, early rice, &c, when that crop is cut, poppy is sown. Thus from June till October the lands carry a bhadai crop, and from October to March they are covered with poppy, lying fallow during the summer. These lands are generally what are called dih or di/ias lands ; that is to say, they lie close to the village, and are more or less manured. In rabi lands, a rabi crop (wheat, barley, &x.) is sown one year, and arhar and kodo the next, and so on. Sugar-cane is a crop of slow growth, and is alternated with rice." Early rice and Indian-corn are also followed by mastiri, peas, linseed, mustard, gram, wheat, and barley. When the winter rice has been cut, khesdri is very frequently sown among the stubble. Manures.— By far the greater part of the cow-dung is burnt for fuel. Kitchen-gardens are enriched with sweepings from the road, and with ashes and earth containing nitrous salts. Manure is not used for rice and sugar-cane, but it is always used for poppy and cotton. Pan or betel-leaf is manured with fresh earth. Irrigation is very common over the whole District, and its pre valence may, perhaps, be thought to render the use of manure unne cessary. According to the Collector, all kinds of crops, with the exception of gram, mastiri, linseed, til, khesdri, kurthi, arhar, and Indian-corn, are irrigated. The methods used are natural and artificial watercourses, reservoirs, and wells. The artificial watercourses (pdin) have already been mentioned (p. 23). Concerning this subject, Dr Buchanan-Hamilton wrote as follows in the beginning of the cen tury : — " Many of these pains are several kos in length ; and in the dry season convey large quantities of water, often more than remains in the channel of the river. The expense both of making and repair ing the canals and reservoirs is entirely defrayed by the zaminddrs, 106 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF CAY A DISTRICT. who appoint proper persons to divide the water among the tenantry. During the height of the floods, these canals and reservoirs afford a supply by merely allowing the water to flow on the fields through sluices, which usually consist of a hollow tar tree, the end of which is filled with clay when it is intended that the water should be con fined. In the canals, the water is raised to the level of each man's sluice by a small temporary dam of earth. Towards the end of the season, the water must be raised from both reservoirs and canals by machinery. The bucket, suspended by ropes, called chanr, is some times used, when the quantity of water remaining is small ; but when the quantity of water is considerable, the machine like a canoe is used, if the height to which it is to be raised is small ; while the pot raised by a lever is preferred when the height is considerable. The trouble attending this is not so considerable as might be imagined ; because, after the fields next the reservoir have been filled, the same water is allowed to flow on others without any additional labour. The greater portion of the winter crops, and of vegetables and sugar cane, is watered from wells." The cost of irrigating sugar-cane is reported to be Rs. 7 the standard bighA, or about £2, 2s. the acre. Wells, though found all over the District, are most common in the sandy tract between the Son and the Piinpiin rivers, where the country may be said to be perforated by them. The greater number are kachchd ; that is to say, simply holes dug in the ground, without any masonry work to strengthen the walls. The cost of making a well depends on the distance of the water from the surface. The Collector reports that he has seen cultivators commence a well in the morning, and by 4 p.m. the men had reached water at a depth of 8 feet, and were irrigating their fields. But sometimes wells have to be sunk to a depth of 60 feet. The water is raised by a lever. A long rope is attached to the bucket at one end, and the other to a bam boo lever, which moves on a pole. One end of the lever is weighted with a log, stone, or lump of clay ; and when not in use the bucket rests above the well. When water is required, a man standing by the pole pulls the rope till the bucket is immersed ; as soon as the tension is relaxed the weight attached to the lever raises the bucket of itself. There are generally three or even more levers working at once in each well. This economises labour, for one man is sufficient to distribute the water raised by four or five levers or lathas. When the depth is moderate, three men with two lathas can water from about two-thirds to one-third of an acre daily. The bucket consists of an NATURAL CALAMITIES: DROUGHTS. 107 iron or an earthen pot, and the price of a rope and lever is about four dnnds or 6d. An iron pot costs one rupee or 2s., and an earthen pot only half an dnnd or three farthings ; but the latter is often broken, and has to be renewed. In town-gardens, water is fre quently raised in a large leather bucket (moth). An inclined hollow is made near the well, and the water is raised by means of a pair of oxen walking down the incline. Statistics showing the amount of water that is usually raised by the chdnr, ldtha, and moth are given in the Statistical Account of Shahdbdd District. Large reservoirs (dhars) are much used. They vary in size, being sometimes more than a mile in length, but in general much smaller. They are constructed especially for the rice cultivation by the proprie tors of the villages. When water is required, the bank iscutand thewater distributed over the fields. The cultivators belonging to the village in which the dhar is situated get their water free of charge ; but the members of an adjoining village have to pay at an average rate of eight dnnds the standard bighd, or about 3s. an acre. The cost of construct ing such a reservoir varies with the size, from Rs. 500 to Rs. 25, or from ^50 to £2, 1 os. The people who dig them are called bclddr, and are paid from R. 1-8 to Rs. 4, or from 3s. to 8s. for 100 sikandari cubical gaz (2 feet o| inches), according to the depth of the ditch and height of the bank which constitutes the reservoir. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton was informed that every 1000 bighds of rice land required a bank of from 150 to 100 bighds in length. After the reservoirs have been cut, a winter crop of wheat, barley, or pulse is frequently sown within the enclosure. Natural Calamities. — Floods and Blights. — In very rainy seasons, some injury is done to the crops by standing water ; but within the memory of the present generation there has only been one considerable flood. This occurred thirty-seven years ago, when the hill-streams flooded the surrounding country ; but the water remained stationary for only one day, and then subsided in nine or ten hours. Injury from blight is rare. During the last sixty years locusts have visited the District three times. Sometimes grasshoppers do some damage, but not to the extent of affecting the market price of grain. Droughts are unfortunately only too common. In 1870 the Collector reported that droughts affecting the general prospects of the District had occurred ten times during the present generation ; and that no measures had been taken as safeguards against drought io8 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. in the future. Since that date the Son Canals have been constructed, which will, undoubtedly, prevent much of the loss that arises from a dry season. The Famine of 1866 certainly did affect Gayd District, but no standard exists by which to guage the actual pressure. The Col lector reports that the maximum price of common rice rose to Rs. 6-10-8 a man, or 18s. 6d. per cwt. ; and of paddy to Rs. 3-5-4 a man, or 9s. 3d. per cwt. But, as I have already mentioned, prices in this District are an uncertain index to the pressure from want. Market rates apply only to a very small fraction of the population ; and in a time of pressure, when people are unwilling to sell, they indicate far greater scarcity than really exists. The following account is condensed from the Report of Mr F. R. Cockerell, C.S., Famine Commissioner for the Patna and Bhdgalpur Divisions. " The distress was most severe in that part of the District which lies to the west, in the vicinity of Gayd town, and to the south-west and south, within the Subdivisions of Aurangdbdd and Sherghatf. This distressed tract extended over an area of upwards of 1300 square miles, and comprising pargands Goh, Dddar, Kabar, Antral, Anchhd, Manorah, Charkdnwdn, Dakhnair, Sanaut, Siris, Kutumbd, Japld, and Sherghdtf. The rice crop, which is the main cultivation in most of these pargands, may be said to have failed completely in 1864; and from that time prices rose considerably, and general dis tress began to be felt. The rabi or spring crops of 1865 were much below the average. From want of sufficient moisture in the ground, resulting from the early cessation of the rains in 1864, and the diffi culty experienced in obtaining seed, the area under rabi cultivation was contracted, and the produce was much injured by the severe hailstorms which fell in the spring of 1865. From these causes the general distress became so great, that in May and June of that year, the poorer classes were reduced to living upon the seeds of the mahud tree, berries, grass, and herbs. This extreme destitution abated on the setting in of the rains. Prices fell ; and as there was work to be done in the fields, special relief measures were not deemed necessary. The condition of the people, however, did not improve, and the general distress reached its climax in October 1865, when only 7 sers of rice could be purchased for the rupee. The Collector commenced a daily distribution of grain, and called a meeting of the principal inhabitants, with the object of raising a general subscrip tion to defray the cost of maintaining the starving people. A daily THE FAMINE OF 1866. 109 average of about 1000 persons were fed at Gayd town by public charity from 1 2th October to 17th December. In the latter month, when the markets again fell, and the rice harvest afforded means of employment, the relief was considered no longer necessary, and was suspended. But, as the Collector anticipated, there was a renewal of extreme distress in March 1866. Severe hailstorms and a heavy rainfall in February, with the premature arrival of the hot winds, caused much injury to the spring crops. The stocks in the hands of dealers became exhausted, and the local supplies were mainly depen dent on importations from Patnd ; the zaminddrs, who are the prin cipal holders of grain (as the bhdoli system, or payment of rent in kind, prevails in this District to a great extent), withheld their stocks from the market, in the expectation of still greater scarcity. From these causes the prices of food again rose in March ; and a consider able increase in that class of crime which marks the existence of extreme distress amongst the lower classes took place about the same period. Still no special measures were adopted by the Collector till June, when relief centres were opened at Gayd town, and at the head quarters of the Subdivisions of Sherghdtf, Nawddd, and Aurangdbdd. Subsequently, in August and September, additional centres were estab lished at Konch and Fathipur in the Sherghdtf Subdivision. Uncooked rice, at the average rate of half a ser to each person, was given at all the relief centres, except at Sherghdtf ; where the Deputy-Magis trate, who had charge of the relief administration, distributed money in lieu of food, from the 24th July to the end of the period during which relief operations lasted. The rice was in each case purchased in the local market nearest to the relief centre. During the period of the greatest distress, the average daily number of persons receiv ing relief was 1167 for the week ending 7th July; 1105 for the week ending 6th August ; and 934 for the week ending 6th Septem ber. An average daily number of about 200 persons was employed on roads during the same period ; and at Gayd the manufacture of ropes gave employment to a daily average of 142 persons. A sum of Rs. 1000 was granted from public funds in aid of the local subscriptions (which amounted to Rs. 12,371), to be expended in gratuitous relief; and Rs. 9050 was assigned in August from the Imperial funds for employment of the people on public works. The niahatit of Buddh Gayd largely increased his ordinary charities. The Rdnfs of Tikdrf distributed food daily at that place ; and the zaminddrs of Nawddd subscribed liberally. But as a rule, the land no STATISTICAL ACCOUXT OF CAVA DISTRICT. owners rendered little or no assistance towards the support of the starving people. Cholera made its appearance in the town of Gayd about the middle of July, and thence spread over the interior of the District, visiting Tikdrf, Konch, Goh, and Ddudnagar in the Gayd Subdivision. Medicines were distributed freely through the agency of the police in those localities. In the Aurangdbdd Subdivision there was not much sickness ; but cholera prevailed in some parts of the Nawddd Subdivision, and at Fathipur. Of a total number of 927 admissions to the Gayi hospital from amongst the pauper relief recipients from June to November 1866, 447 died within an average period of two days after admission, showing the severe character of the cholera outbreak in the town of Gayd. At Nawddd, out of a total number of 257 persons admitted to hospital during the same period, 8 died within an average period of eight days after admission, and 249 were discharged as cured. At Sherghati, amongst 39 admissions during the same period, 2 deaths occurred, one within two and the other within fifteen days after admission. Upwards of 3000 persons in Gayd District were registered for emigration under Acts III. of 1863 and XIII. of 1864 during the year 1865 ; and this fact gives some indication of the extremity of the general distress, and the difficulty of gaining a livelihood experienced by the labouring classes during that year. The entire number of recipients of gratuitous relief at no time exceeded a daily average of 1 200 per sons ; whilst the mortality return for the District, showing only cases reported by the police, and consequently considerably underrating the actual loss of life caused by the famine, establishes the fact of 3387 persons having died. This shows the number of deaths to be in the proportion of more than 2 to 1 as compared with the number relieved. That the number coming forward to receive relief should have been so small, when the distress had been so protracted through the failure of the crops of successive years, and the high ruling prices occasioned thereby, is only to be accounted for by the fact of the inaccessibility of the relief depots, owing to their distance from the mass of the starving population." The Famine of 1873-74 was not seriously felt in the District ot Gayd. The flooding of the bhadai crops in August, and the bursting of the dhars or reservoirs, which seriously affected the winter rice, gave rise to grave anticipations, which fortunately were not realised. Much of the crops to the west of the District were saved by water from the Son, which was freely distributed through the half-finished FAMINE WARNINGS, ETC. in canals. Slight showers about Christmas and January just sufficed to keep the rabi crop alive ,on the ground, and good rain in February secured a fair out-turn. Meanwhile private trade had collected large supplies of grain from the Panjab and North-West Provinces at Patnd, Arrah, &c. ; and this grain was distributed over Gayd District. One of the chief causes of the distress in 1866, viz., the impassable condition of the Patnd and Gayd road, no longer existed to hinder the transport of grain. The rabi crop was good, and the subsequent crops of the year 1874 were luxuriant and excel lent. Prices, no doubt, were higher than in the worst parts of Tirhut and Champdran, where the distress was far more severe ; but the market price in Gayd does not directly affect the majority of the population. All the local officers were convinced that no real dis tress need be apprehended. Government grain, however, was stored throughout the District, relief works were instituted, and a compara tively small number of the poorest classes were charitably relieved. But these special measures were simply precautionary. The Govern ment had merely to supplement the food supply, strengthened as it was by private trade, with a small amount (less than 2855 tons) of grain, and not to feed a great portion of the population, as in the north Gangetic Districts. Famine Warnings. — The Collector (writing before the experience of the late famine) stated that prices reach famine rates when paddy, the staple crop of the District, is selling at four times the ordinary rate, that is at Rs. 6 a. man, or 16s. 8d. percwt. MrBayley, however, points out that, in a bhdoli District, market rates are no sure index of want. " Nothing," he says, " but a succession of bad seasons can exhaust the landowners' stock, and the other private stores of grain in every village. The cultivator does not owe for rent, and his landlord can easily advance him, for subsistence, grain which has cost him little. ... In ordinary years, a good bhadai crop, even if followed by a total loss of the winter paddy crop, will suffice to supply the people with food up to a late period of the following year, certainly up to the rabi harvest." According to the same authority, there are only two means of preventing the possibility of future famines : facilities for irrigation and improved railway communication. Foreign and Absentee Landholders. — The Collector reported, in 187 1, that there was only one European registered as a proprietor in the District. He estimated the number of Musalmdn proprietors ii2 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF CAVA DISTRICT. at 8892 ; and the absentee landholders at 25 per cent, of the total number. Roads and Means of Communication. — There are three impor tant roads in the District of Gayd, which are metalled throughout their entire length — (1) The Patnd Branch Road, which enters the District a few miles north of Jahdndbdd, and runs due south past Jahdndbdd, Tehtd, Makdiimpur, Beld, and Chdkand to Gaya town. It is extended in a south-westerly direction to Dhobf, where it meets the Grand Trunk Road. The total length of this road is 80 miles, of which 24 miles are in Patnd District and 56 miles in Gayd. The annual cost of repairs is ^4000. It is now passable throughout the year; but during the famine of 1866 much of the distress was owing to the badness of this road during the rains, all communication between Jahdndbdd and the Piinpiin river being interrupted. (2) The Behar Local Road, which runs north and south from Behar town to Rdjauli. The total length is 41 miles, of which 30 are in Gayd District. This road passes through Nawddd, and bisects the Subdivision. It was constructed in 1869, but allowed to fall out of repair till the last famine, when it was re-metalled as a relief measure. (3) The Grand Trunk Road passes through the south of the District for a distance of 65 miles, from the Mohdnd river to the S6n, across which it is carried on a causeway that is flooded when the river is high. West of Aurangdbdd, it is cut by the Batanl, a branch of the Piinpiin. It passes the important towns of Bardchati, Sherghdti, and Aurangdbdd. The annual cost of repairing this road is .£1936, 10s. These three roads are under the management of the Department of Public Works. Of roads under local management, the three principal lines are — (1) From Gayd to Ddiidnagar, 41 miles in length, of which the first 12 are metalled; annual repairs, ^179, 18s. (2) From Gayd to Sherghdti, 20 miles in length, of which the first four miles are metalled; annual repairs, j£&i, 6s. (3) From Gayd to Nawddd, thirty-six miles in length, unmetalled ; annual repairs, .£55, 14s. The Collector has only mentioned these six roads, but the following unmetalled roads, most of which were constructed or repaired during the late famine, may be added : — (1) From Nawddd to Wdrisaliganj, 10 miles; (2) from Nawddd to Pakribardnwdn, 13! miles ; (3) from Nawddd to Govindpur, 12 miles • (4) from Gayd to Rdjauli, about 36 miles ; (5) from Aurangdbdd to Nabfnagar, about 22 miles; (6) from Aurangdbdd to Obra, 10 M. I NUFA CTURES. 1 1 3 miles; (7) from Arwal to Bariin, through Ddiidnagar, about 40 miles; (8) and from Arwal to Jahdndbdd, about 20 miles. No large markets are known to have lately sprung up on any of the routes of traffic. With regard to other means of communication, the canals have been already referred to (p. 22). There are no railways in the District ; but a proposal has been made to construct a light railway, or rather tramway, between Patna and Gayd along the Patnd Branch Road, a distance of sixty miles. The accounts of the Gayd District Road Fund for the year 1874-75, published in the Calcutta Gazette of July 12, 1876, show an income of ^3911, 12s., against a total expenditure of ^2448, 10s. In the preceding year a special grant of ^7500 had been made by Government " to meet the cost of any additional works during the period of distress." From this grant, a balance of ^6916, 10s. was carried forward to the year under report, and ^4000 was ultimately refunded to Government. This latter amount, therefore, has not been included in the figures just given for income and expenditure. The income, however, does include a balance of ^2916, 10s. brought forward from the pre vious year; the remainder, ^995, was raised locally, chiefly by road and ferry tolls. The Road Cess Act of 187 1 has not yet been extended to Gaya District. Of the total expenditure shown above, ^527, 9s. was expended on original works, and ^1681, 4s. on repairs ; while ^1463 was carried forward. The District Road Committee is reported to have worked in a satisfactory manner. Manufactures. — The Collector gives the following list of manu factures. Brass utensils of the common kind for home use ; tasar- silk cloth ; black-stone ornaments ; and rope of all kinds from a grass called sdbih which grows in the wilder parts of the District. The wages of the manufacturers are reported to be four dnnds, or sixpence a day. Generally speaking, the people manufacture on their own account and in their own houses. There are instances, however, where hired labour is employed and houses rented for the purpose, particularly in the towns of Gayd and Sdhibganj. A full account of the manufactures existing in 181 2 is given by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton, whose remarks on this subject are here re produced in a condensed form. The two chief towns were then, as at present, Gayd and Ddiidnagar. In the former place, the archi tects who were brought from Jainagar to construct the temple of VOL. XII. g \\\ STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. Vishnu-pad, were still to be seen. Their descendants are now chiefly to be found at Pathalkatf, a village about fifteen miles from Gayd, near the quarries from which the famous black-stone of Gayd is excavated. These sang-tardsh, as they are called, carve all kinds of vases and images, which command a ready sale in the surrounding country, among the pilgrims who visit Gayd. Soap was manufactured then as now in the town of Gayd, but not to the same extent as at Patnd. It was estimated that each man could make about 77J lbs. in three or four clays. Allowing for sick ness and other avocations, we may calculate that this quantity will be made seven times a month. The cost of production would be about 9s., and the article when sold would realise us., giving a monthly profit of 14s. The annual amount of soap made by each family would be 6510 lbs., valued at about £46, 4s. Torchmakers (Mr!) were a numerous class. The torches were made, as usual, of cotton rags, chiefly collected by the Dom caste from the dead bodies of Hindus, who are stripped naked before being placed on the funeral pile. The torchmakers also sell the conical preparation of betel-leaf, lime, &c, which is chewed by all classes, and the leaf-platters (patal) made from the broad leaves of the paras (Butea frondosa), which are used very generally at large dinners and marriage-feasts. ABfR, or the red starch thrown about at the Holt festival, was for merly made at Daiidnagar, but now it is also manufactured in Gayd. It is prepared from janird (Holcus sorghum), lodh bark, sappan wood, and a little impure soda ; and about 9 lbs. of it are sold for a shilling. Lac. — The makers of lac ornaments (/a/iti, &c.) and a red powder (sindur) were found all over the District. Most of the lac came from the neighbourhood of Sherghatf and Hazdrfbdgh District. Ac cording to the Collector, there is now no regular manufactory of lac, most of it being exported in its crude state. Bracelets and rings (churt) similar to those commonly made of lac are made of glass in Gayd. Ink. — This manufacture has increased since Dr Buchanan-Ham ilton's time, when there were only two families employed. The method of preparation is as follows : — 95 lbs. of linseed-oil give 4 lbs. of lamp-black, collected by an earthen lamp. Add 5 lbs. of gum of the nim (Melia Indica) and a little water, and rub in a mortar with a pestle for three hours. Then infuse 1 J lbs. of gall- nuts in 10 lbs. of water, and add the strained infusion to the rubbed < . MANUFACTURES : TAPER. 115 materials. Then rub again for three hours, and put the pot in the sun until the paste dries sufficiently to admit of its being made into small cakes, which are again dried in the sun. Paper. — This manufacture formerly flourished at Arwal; its present state of decadence has been already noticed (p. 57). The following account of the process of manufacture is given by Mr Bourdillon : — " The material used from time immemorial, and still exclusively em ployed, is old jute-sacking (Crotolarea juncea). This is cut into small pieces, and placed to soak for some days in water in a stone or pakka cistern. When it is sufficiently macerated by the action of the water, beating is commenced with a dhenki, such as that used for pounding surkhi (brick), and is continued for six days. At the end of that time the pulp is all taken out and washed on a strainer. It is then again beaten for two days with the dhenki, with the addition to the water of some ley of soda. This beating process is repeated nine times in all, each subsequent beating taking a longer time, varying from five or six days in the hot weather to eight or ten in the cold season. Between each beating the pulp is washed, strained, and dried. These repeated beatings and strainings reduce the pulpy mass to a thick, white, creamy paste, which is pressed together into large cheese-like blocks. When thoroughly bleached and dried, these are thrown into a small cistern of water to dissolve ; and the actual work of making the paper into the sheets now begins. The paste, of course, sinks to the bottom of the cistern, and lies there in a creamy deposit. When it is necessary to make paper, the cistern is vigorously stirred with a stick, and the contents thoroughly mixed, till the water assumes the consistency of milk. The operator then slides under the water a tray or mat, composed of very fine slips of bamboo with interstices between ; and by lifting this to the surface of the water, he obtains a level deposit of the paste on the tray, while the water drains through the interstices. A neat turn of the wrist consolidates the paste into a damp sheet of paper ; which is then placed on a heap of similar sheets, by dexterously reversing the tray. All the sheets formed in one day are in the evening placed under a plank, and pressed by the weight of two or three men who sit on the plank. The sheets are afterwards stuck against the wall to dry, falling off when all the moisture they contain has evaporated. For the manufacture of common paper but two pro cesses remain. The sheets are pasted on one side and dried, then pasted on the other side, and again dried. When finally rubbed n6 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. smooth with a stone and cut square, they are ready for the market. In the manufacture of the superior kinds of paper, another process is employed in the smoothing of the surface, by nibbing it with polished glass. This operation gives the paper a very fine gloss and a glassy smoothness. It is, or was (for no fine paper is now manu factured), the peculiar monopoly of a class of Muhammadans called muharahddrs to perform this operation. The papermakers, as above noticed, are exceedingly poor; the whole of their very trifling opera tions are conducted on advances made by the merchant, when these can be obtained. The yearly manufacture has now dwindled to twenty-five or fifty reams. The estimated cost of the materials required for twenty-five reams is jQ^, iSs. 6d., and the value of the paper when made is .£8. 15s. The net profit therefore, where no hired assistance is required, is ^3, 16s. 6d." Pottery is very generally made throughout the District. The ware is strong, but coarse and unglazed. The production of tiles for roofing forms a considerable part of the trade. The usual shape is semi-cylindrical, and the price varies from one to two shillings a thousand. Bricks also are manufactured, especially near Gayd town, by the Kumar caste. Of late years, brick-kilns have been made all along the Son Canals. Cloth Manufactory. — The importance of this manufacture in former times has been already noticed. Rangrezs or dyers were found all over the District, making large profits. The principal materials used were safflower, indigo, and lac, of which the last is now little used. Blankets were manufactured at most of the big markets. The chief places where blankets, carpets, &c, are now made are Ddridnagar, Obra, Rafiganj, and Gorui near Sherghdtf. The weavers of tasar silk are chiefly to be found at Bunfydd-ganj and Kidfrganj. Miscellaneous Manufactures. — Of the other manufactures and trades mentioned by Dr Buchanan-Hamilton, it will be sufficient to give the names and the numbers engaged in each : — Makers of fireworks, 45 ; tanners, 1433 ; makers of sweetmeats, 580 ; carpen ters, 1400; blacksmiths, 600; gold and silversmiths, 915; chintz- makers, 40 ; and tobacco preparers, 87. There also existed a very few (irgars, who manufactured iron-tipped arrows for the hill-tribes in the south of the District. The sugar manufactory has been already noticed (pp. 92, 93) ; and the manufacture of crude opium and indigo will be described in the Statistical Accounts of Patni and Shahibad respectively. -v COMMERCE AND TRADE. 117 Saltpetre. — A considerable manufacture of saltpetre, partly illicit, is carried on in Gayd District. The number of Nuniyas, as returned by the Census Report, is 3 161 ; and this caste is especially employed in collecting the saline earth for the manufacture. Soda effloresces in the neighbourhood of the towns of Gayd and Ddiidnagar, and in the Nawddd and Jahandbad Subdivisions. The process of manufacture is thus described by Mr Bourdillon : — " The saline earth is boiled for three hours in large pans. The water is then baled out, and the sediment put aside. This process is usually repeated a second time, and the liquor is then allowed to stand in large earthen jars till the saltpetre crystallises, when the crystals are broken off and carried to the storeroom. No attempt is made to refine it further ; and the saltpetre is packed in bags and exported on bullocks to Patnd, whence it is sent to Calcutta." Commerce. — The trade of the District is chiefly conducted by means of permanent markets, in the towns, and at fairs. The Collector, in 1875, Save tne following list of exports: — Oil-seeds, pulses, brass utensils, blankets, hides, saltpetre, sugar, cotton, cloth, and red pepper. To these may be added all kinds of food-grains, especially paddy and rice, kath and betel-leaf, the medicinal sub stances kaild, batbhlrang, and dhund, timber, bamboos, mica, lac, raw silk, ghi, iron, stone plates, indigo, and a large amount of crude opium for manufacture in Patnd. The imports, as given by the Collector, comprise timber, bamboos, rice, salt, piece-goods, cloth, lac, cotton, and iron. To these may be added spices of all sorts, fruits from Kabul, brass utensils, Bendres cloth, and shawls. The Collector is of opinion that the imports exceed the exports, thus turning the balance of trade against the District ; but I am inclined to believe that he has not taken into account the value of the opium yearly exported from this District, which exceeds ^375,500. The principal trade with other Districts is along the Patnd Branch Road. Mr Bourdillon has estimated the annual value of the exports and im ports (exclusive of opium) along this line at ^450,000. No estimate exists of the trade along the Grand Trunk Road and the Son Canal, but it is trifling in comparison with the traffic on the Patnd Road. Of the trade in the Nawddd Subdivision, a few details are furnished by Mr Beames. He estimates the annual value of iron ore found in Pachamba at ^20 ; of the mica sold at Rajaulf at ^2500 ; and of the saltpetre from WaXsdliganj at ^800, when sold in Calcutta. " The trade of Jahdndbdd is limited," says Mr Bourdillon, " to a 118 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. small export of hides, saltpetre, sugar, cotton cloth, red pepper, oil-seeds, and opium ; while its imports are food-grains and piece- goods. There is a small trade at Arwa in timber and bamboo, which are brought down the Son for sale." Traffic Statistics on the Gaya and PatnA Road. — The following paragraphs have been extracted frcm the Statistical Reporter of March 1876 :— " The registration of the road traffic on the road between Bankipur and Gayd, is of special interest with reference to the importance of procuring accurate data in connection with the proposed tramway on this road. The traffic has been registered for some years past; but since the ist September 1875, the returns have been brought into uniformity with those that are now obtained from other sources. From the accompanying state ments, it will be seen that during the four months from September to December 1875, the total traffic under Class I. from Gaya" to Patnd amounted to 65,125 mans, or 2384 tons ; and the total traffic from Patnd to Gayd to 74,092 mans, or 2712 tons. Of the imports into Patnd, the most important articles of traffic are linseed (17,541 mam, or 642 tons), and rice (15,525 mans, or 568 tons). Of the exports from Patnd, the most important item is salt (18,172 mans, or 665 tons) ; the quantity of tobacco sent from Patnd (7513 mans, or 275 tons) is also worthy of notice. By far the most valuable of the consignments from Patnd are European cotton manufactures, which were worth Ks. 96,224, or ^9622, 8s. Almost the whole of these were consigned in September, in which month the Pinda ceremonies, which draw pilgrims from every part of India, are cele brated. The large number of animals passing south from Patnd in November is due to the breaking up of the Srjnpur fair, which supplies all Behar with plough-cattle, bred chiefly in Shdhdbad and in the Trans-Gangetic Districts of the Patnd Division." The following are the figures for the traffic that left Gayd for the Districts of Patnd, Shdhdbdd, and Sdran during the whole period of the four months ending 3ist December 1875 :— Class I. — Registered by weight. — Cotton, 96 mans ; indigo, 16; fuel and firewood, 280; dried fruits, 3319; fresh fruits and vegetables, 19; wheat, 2508; pulses and gram, 934; rice, 15,425; other cereals, 5288; jute and other raw fibres, 373 ; raw silk, 5 ; hides, 976 ; horns, 13 ; iron and its manufactures, 213 ; lime and limestone, 4 ; shell-lac, 253 ; stick- lac, 180; ghi, 1742; oil, 73; linseed, 17462, ///-seed, 197; mus tard-seed, 341; castor oil-seed, 1981 ; poppy-seed, 7113; salt, EXPORT AND IMPORT TRADE. 119 182 ; saltpetre, 618; spices and condiments, 141 ; refined sugar, 60; unrefined sugar, 3256; tobacco, 69; miscellaneous, 417 mans. Total of Class I., 63,554 mans, or 2326 tons (this differs from the total given above by 1571 mans, or 58 tons, which were exported northwards along the Gayd and Patnd Road from the District of Hazdribagh). Class II. — Registered by numbers — Horses, &c, 513; cows and bullocks, 30; buffaloes, 232; goats and sheep, 1095 ; camels, 35 ; elephants, 23 ; timber, 2131 ; bamboos, 38,320 ; miscellaneous, 2400. Class III. — Registered by value. — Leather and its manufactures, jQ?>, 10s ; woollen manufactures, ^15, 18s. ; European cotton manufactures, ^808 ; native cotton manufactures, ^540, 12s. ; miscellaneous native goods, ^502, 2s. ; miscellaneous European goods, ^50, 12s. Total of Class III., ^1925, 14s. The imports into Gayd from the Districts of Patnd and Sdran are thus returned for the period of the same four months : — Class I. — Coal and coke, 45 mans ; cotton, 3766 ; intoxicating drugs (other than opium), 10 ; dyes (other than indigo), such as red earth, 12; betel-nuts, 46; dried fruits, 145; fresh fruits and vegetables, 3728; wheat, 2037 ; pulses and gram, 4680; rice, 7160; paddy, 100; other cereals, 7010; jute and other raw fibres, 106; manu factures of fibres (as ropes, sacking, &c), 66 ; iron and its manu factures, 617; copper, brass, and their manufactures, 164; stone, 46; shell-lac, 34; stick-lac, 13 ; ghi, 185; oil, 130; linseed, 1401 ; mustard-seed, 615; castor-oil-seed, 74; poppy-seed, 179; salt, 18,142; saltpetre, 10; other saline substances (as khori, sajjcrah &c), 536; spices and condiments, 6918; refined sugar, 314; unrefined sugar, 6781; tobacco, 6913; miscellaneous, 64 mans. Total of Class I., 72,047 mans, or 2637 tons (this differs from the total given above by 2045 mans, or 75 tons, which were imported southwards along the Gayi and Patnd Road into the District of Hazdribdgh). Class II. — Horses, &c, 1578; cows and bullocks, 3052 ; buffaloes, 4017 ; goats and sheep, 930 ; birds, 40 ; camels, 40 ; elephants, 68; timber, 89; bamboos, 100; cocoa-nuts, 29,950; miscellaneous, 308. Class III. — Leather and its manufactures, £10, 6s. ; woollen manufactures, £2, 14s. ; European cotton manu factures, ^8710, 8s.; native cotton manufactures, ,£560; miscel laneous native goods, ,£399, 14s. ; miscellaneous European goods, £$1, 8s. Total of Class III., ^9714, 10s. Capital. — It has been already observed (pp. 97, 98) that in many respects grain, and not money, is the circulating medium in Gayd Dis trict. The needy cultivator in want of seed does not usually borrow i2o STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. money to buy the seed, but the grain itself, on the condition that he will return so much of his crop at harvest-time. Very little money suffices for the few wants of the cultivating classes. What capital there is, in the hands of bankers and shopkeepers, is not hoarded, but employed in trade or loans. The state of general indebtedness has been already indicated (p. 95), and the rate of interest ensures large profits to the lender. The rate for small loans, where the borrower pawns some small article such as ornaments or household vessels, varies from two to four Gorakhpuri pice in the rupee per month, or from 333 to 66J per cent. per annum. In large trans actions, where a mortgage is given upon houses or lands, the rate will depend upon the condition of the mortgage. With possession, the rate will vary from 12 to 24 per cent. ; but without posses sion, it will be increased to 30 per cent. per annum. In petty ad vances to cultivators upon the personal security of the borrower, the usual condition is that the money or grain advanced is to be repaid at harvest-time, with an augmentation of the money or grain dependent upon the selling price of grain, but equivalent to interest at 50 per cent. For example, if a rupee is borrowed when grain is selling at 20 sers the rupee, the borrower must repay at harvest-time R. 1-8, or 60 sers of grain, when it is selling at 40 sers the rupee. On capital invested in the purchase of an estate, 6 per cent. per annum, or even less, is considered as a fair return. Several large bankers reside at the towns of Gayd and Sdhibganj, who deal extensively in money- lending. The village shopkeepers lend out money at usury, but not to any great extent. The rate of interest appears to have diminished of late years, owing probably to the increased security of property and to the greater number of lenders. In Dr Buchanan-Hamilton's time the rate for petty transactions varied from 37^ to 75 per cent. per annum. Large sums were advanced by the nakdl mahdjans, or cash mer chants, at from 18 to 20 per cent. ; while sums of consequence, for example, ^100, were to be got on good security, such as bullion or jewels, for 12 or 15 per cent. Newspapers. — There are no regular newspapers in the Dis trict ; but there is published at Gayd a translation in Urdu of the Weekly Reporter. This quasi-periodical, called Guldasta-nazair or Nosegay of Precedents, has about a hundred subscribers among the pleaders of Behar. Incomes and Income-Tax. — The Collector, in 1871, estimated the total of the incomes in Gayd District over ^50 per annum at , IXST/TUTIONS, ETC. 121 ^839,105, 4s. This estimate appears to be slightly under the truth; it would only yield ,£26,222, os. od. at the rate of 3! per cent, whereas the actual net produce of the income-tax in 1870-71 amounted to £26,776, 12s. For the purposes of this tax, the number of persons assessed in that year in Gayd District as having incomes over £50 per annum was 4373. The net amount realised was, as already mentioned, £26,776, 12s.; a sum which exceeds the amount obtained from any other District in Bengal or Behar, with the exception of Calcutta and the enormous District of Tirhut. This fact might seem to show that the poverty of the people and the low material condition of Gaya District cannot be so great as it has been represented ; for the District, though large, is a rural one, and large fortunes accumulated by trade are unknown. But this apparent contradiction is readily explained by the fact that a great proportion of the tax was derived from the Gaydwdls, who readily paid the high rate at which their incomes were assessed, rather than en dure any scrutiny into the sources of their wealth. The net annual amounts realised in Gaya from income, licence, or certificate taxes from 1863 to 1872 are as follow: — In 1863, from income-tax, £16,043, 2S- > m 1864, £11,483, 2s. ; in 1865, £10,720, 2s. ; in 1868, from the licence-tax, £3130, 14s. ; in 1869, from the certificate-tax, £2679, 6s. ; in 1870, from income-tax, when the rate was ij per cent, £11,746, 14s. ; in 1871, when the rate was 3! per cent, £26,776, 12s.; and in 1872, when the rate was iJj per cent, and the tax was levied only on incomes above £75 per annum, £7935, 10s. It is noticeable that when an income-tax was in force, the sum realised from Gayd District was second only to the amounts obtained from Calcutta and Tirhut ; but that when the licence or certificate-tax was levied, fourteen Districts, besides Calcutta, gave a larger annual result Institutions. — The Collector reports that there are three religious endowments in the District. The one at Buddh Gayd has been already described. The second at Husdindbdd, in the Aurangibid Subdivision, is a Muhammadan institution ; and the third at Budhantf, in the Nawddd Subdivision, is similar to the convent at Buddh Gaya. A certain zaminddr at Hasiid has a charitable establish ment for feeding daily all poor travellers, which is said to cost £5 a day. The late Rdjd of Tikarf used to keep a carriage and five pairs of horses at Gayd, which he was always ready to lend to local officials, who would otherwise have found no little difficulty in moving rapidly over this large District. 122 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GA YA DISTRICT. The Administrative History of GayA cannot be fully given, as all the records were burnt in the Mutiny. After the acquisition of the Province of Behar by the English in 1765, the management was intrusted to a distinguished native, Shitab Rdi. The subsequent history of the District of Behar, out of which the present area of Gayd District was afterwards taken, will be found in the Statistical Account of Patnd. It was not until 1825 that Gayd was constituted an inde pendent Collectorate, whose limits included the present Subdivision of Behar ; but in 18 14 the whole south of the District had been placed under the jurisdiction of a special Joint-Magistrate, stationed at Sher- ghdtf. For revenue purposes, the Collector was under the jurisdiction of the Board of Commissioners at Patna and Benares, created in 181 7. For judicial purposes, there were native munsi/s, under a Judge- Magistrate, from whom, again, an appeal lay to the Provincial Civil Court at Patnd. In 1829, this Court and also the Board were swept away, and their powers were vested in a Commissioner at Patnd acting under the orders of the Board in Calcutta. In 1831, the Judge-Magistrate of Gayd was given increased powers as a Sessions-Judge, and his magisterial powers were made over to the Collector ; and thus the present unit of administration, the Magis trate-Collector, was created. In 1845, tne offices of Magistrate and Collector were separated, to be again reunited by the order of the Secretary of State, dated 14th April 1859. Revenue and Expenditure. — Owing to the loss of all office records during the Mutiny, the earliest date* for which the balance- sheet of the District can be given is 1858-59. It will be seen that the gross revenue for that year was ^411,646, 12s. 4d., and the expenditure ^444,344, 9s. 8d. In 1870-71, the gross revenue was ^262,117, ios., and the gross expenditure ^261,436, 7s. These figures, however, do not show the real facts; the District balance-sheets contain many items of account and transfer, such as deposits and remittances, which conceal both the actual amount of District revenue and the cost of local administration. Eliminat ing these items, we find that the net revenue of the year 1858-59 was ^213,125, 6s. 6d., and the net expenditure ^164,748, 16s. 11d. Applying the same process to the balance-sheet of the year 1870-71, the net revenue will be ^192,870, 4s., and the net expenditure ^224,176, 15s. Even these figures are not strictly accurate, but I can only give them as they were furnished by the District authorities. REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. i-3 Balance-Sheet of GayA District for the Year 1858-59. Gross Revenue. Gross Expenditure. 1. Land Revenue . £153,684 9 1. Stamps . . . ,£223 17 6 2. Abkirl or Excise . 24,138 18 2. Charges of the Gene 3. Stamps . . . 8,720 18 ral Department . 1,811 17 9 4. General Department 1 4 3- Education . . 444 12 o 5. Education . . 100 o 4- Judicial Charges, 6. Judicial Charges, general . 23,560 12 10 general . . 1,31s 18 11 5- Revenue Charges, 7. Revenue Charges, general . . 4,927 5 general . . 4 12 10 6. Mutiny . . . 425 o 8. Profit and Loss . 58S 5 5 7. Profit and Loss . 165 II 9. Confiscation, Abkirl 8. Law Charges . . 14 Department . o 14 10 9. Pension, Political . 687 15 10. Law Charges . . o 8 3 0. Do. Service . 487 15 1 1. Profit and Loss, 1. Revenue Remit Mutiny . 22,765 10 o tances . . . 55.35° o 1 2. Post-Office Remit 2. Post-Office Remit tances . . 25,920 17 II tances . . . 13,456 6 1 3. Remittances, En 'J- Remittances, En gineer's Office . 461 gineer's Departmt. 33,452 1 1 14. Opium . 503 14. Opium . . 132,013 3 15. Revenue Deposits . 37,522 15. Revenue Deposits . 27,39s 7 16. Judicial Deposits . 4,052 16. Judicial Deposits . 2,167 IO 17. Milikind . . 1,255 17. Local Funds . . 1,762 13 18. Sheriff's Fees . o 18. Miscellaneous Ad- 19. Revenue Recorded vances 8i.i55 Fund ... 48 19. Exchange 85 20. Local Fund . . 1,675 20. Pills discharged— 21. Miscellaneous Ad Revenue Depart. 16,019 vances . .79,312 21. Do. Govt. India 47,150 22. Exchange . . 85 22. Do. N. W. P. . 1,597 -.;■ Bills issued (Revenue) 21,039 24- Do. Govt. India 23,758 25- Do. N. W. P. . 2,820 2<\ Do. Ft. St. George 503 *7- Do. Fanjab 104 2S. Military Funds 496 10 29. Electric Telegraph . 42 6 5°- Service Funds 35° '7 31. Annuity Fund 369 8 Total £411,646 12 4 Total £444,344 9 8 To obtain the net revenue, Nos. 12, 13, 15, 16, 19-2S, 30, and 31 must be deducted from the revenue side, leaving a total of £213, 125, 6s. 6d. To obtain the net expenditure, Nos. 1 1-13 and 15-22 must be deducted from the expenditure side, leaving a total of £164, 748, 16s. lid. - 124 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. Budget Estimate of the District of GayA for the Year 1870-71. Gross Revenue. Gross Expenditure. 1. Land Revenue £139,212 16 Interest . £300 o o 2. Abkdrl . . . 23,105 o Allowances, Refunds, 3. Assessed Taxes . 6,180 o and Drawbacks . 2,568 4. Opium . . . 100 o Land Revenue 2,869 5. Stamps . . . 20,233 4 AbkdH . 2,37o 6. Law and Justice . 1,009 4 Assessed Taxes 862 7. Police . . . 20 o Opium . ' 99833 8. Education . . 480 o Stamps . 650 9. Miscellaneous . . 2,530 o Administration and 10. Local Funds . . 10,507 6 Public Department 390 o o 11. Revenue Deposits . 7,719 12 Law and Justice 2,880 18 o 12. Judicial Deposits . 13,346 16 Police * . 10,158 14 o 13. P. W. Department 4,200 o Education, Science, 14. Bills and Transfer and Art 1,354 16 o Receipts . . 31,581 10 Allowances and As 15. India Navy Order sessments, &c 600 o o Department . 360 o Superannuations 050 o o 16. Postal Department 1,532 2 Local Funds . 5,558 4 o Revenue Deposits . 6,309 12 o Judicial Deposits 14,862 18 o Bills and Transfer Receipts 3.877 Cash Remittances, Military Departmt. 90 o o Do. Indian Money- Order Department 2,400 o o Do. Postal Depart ment . 1,293 16 o Jails* . 1,49' 13 o Do. Loss on Manu factures * 64 2 O Total £262,117 10 o Total £261,436 7 o To obtain the net revenue, Nos. 10-16 must be deducted from the revenue ■ side, leaving a total of £192,870, 4s. To obtain the net expenditure, Nos. I, 2, 14-20 must be deducted from the expenditure side, leaving a total of £224,176, 15s. od. * These items are taken from the Departmental Reports. " LAND REVENUE. 125 Land Revenue.— In Gayi, as in the rest of Bengal, the land-tax forms by far the most important item of revenue; in 1870-71 it formed 53 per cent, of the total revenue of the District. The gen eral peculiarities of the land tenures in Behar formed the subject of a special report from Mr D. J. M'Neile to the Government of Bengal, dated 17th October 1871. Hefound that "the land tenure of Behar materially differs from that of Bengal, in virtue of the small average size of estates in most districts of the former Pro vince ; the large number of ousted proprietors, who subsist on the tndlikdnd allowance made to them by the State from the revenues of their former properties ; and the prevalence of the short-term farming system among the landholders ; to which may be added the custom which obtains in some parts " [especially in Gayd] " of paying rents in kind." The average area of the estates in Gaya is 620 acres ; and this comparative smallness is due partly, though not wholly, to the batwdrd (or partition) law, Regulation XIX. of 1814. But even before the passing of this law, as early as 1789, Mr Shore remarked on the insignificant size of the Behar estates. Though now they are probably still smaller than they were then, it is a remarkable fact that they have increased in value ; and the disproportion between the rental and the Government revenue in Behar is notoriously much greater than in Bengal. This is proved by the prices at which estates sold for arrears of revenue are commonly purchased ; the cause is partly original under-assessment, but still more the extension of cultivation. The enhancement of revenue is largely attributable to the resumption and assessment of in valid Idkhirdj tenures. No records exist in Gaya District show ing any revenue statistics earlier than the year 1857-58; but there was discovered in the Patna Office a register of the par- gands in the old District of Behar, with the number of estates, proprietors, and revenue of each. The register contains these statistics from the year 1197 Fasli, corresponding to 1789 of our era. There were at that time 41 pargands in Behar Dis trict, of which 16 have been since transferred to Patnd, and 1 to Monghyr, leaving 24 for the present District of Gaya\ The total area of these 24 pargands is given at 4747-8 square miles, or 3,038,649 acres. The total number of estates was 744 ; the total number of proprietors, 1160; and the Government revenue was 961,574-8 sikkd rupees, or ,£104,170, 10s., equal to an average payment of £140, os. 4d. from each estate, or £89, 12s. from each 126 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. individual proprietor. Comparing the number of estates with the area, we find that the average size of an estate was 4084 acres, or more than six times larger than the average area in 1871. In 1871 the number of estates was 441 1 ; the number of registered pro prietors, 20,453 ; and the total land revenue was ^138,032, equal to an average payment of ^31, 5s. lod. from each estate, or £6, 14s. 1 id. from each individual proprietor. In eighty years, therefore, each estate has on an average been split up into six ; and where there was formerly one proprietor, there are now eighteen. In the same period Government revenue has increased from ^104,170, 103. to ^138,032. This increase is not so large as in most of the Behar Districts ; which may partly be accounted for by the remissions granted to the Deo Rajd and others, for military services. The figures for 1857-58 are as follow: — Number of estates, 4894 ; number of registered proprietors, 23,116 ; paying a total land revenue of ^154,984, equal to an average payment of ^31, 1 5s. 4id. from eacli estate, or ^6, 14s. 2d. from each individual proprietor. No comparison can be drawn from these figures with those of other years; for in 1857 the entire Subdivision of Behar was included in the District of Gayd. Protection to Person and Property has been steadily ren dered more complete. The state of anarchy which resulted in the appointment of a special Joint-Magistrate at Sherghdtf in 1814, has been already alluded to ; and in 1825, the unwieldy District of Behar was split up into the Districts of Patnd and Gayd. In 1857-58, there were two covenanted officers at work throughout the year; and there were seven magisterial courts. In 1862, there were three covenanted officers, twelve magisterial courts, and twelve civil courts, including revenue courts and Deputy-Collectors empowered to hear rent suits. In 1865, the dimensions of the District were further curtailed by the removal of the Behar Subdivision to Patnd District. In 1869, there were eight covenanted officers, seven magisterial and twelve civil courts. Rent Suits. — The number of rent cases instituted under the pro visions of Act X. of 1859 — the Rent Law of Bengal — are thus re turned by the Collector: — In 1861-62, 600 original suits, with 135 miscellaneous applications ; in 1862-63. 473 original suits, with 166 miscellaneous applications; in 1863-64, 416 original suits, with 382 miscellaneous applications; and in 1868-69, 343 original suits, with 304 miscellaneous applications. It will thus be seen that POLICE STATISTICS. 127 these rent suits have steadily diminished in number since the first introduction of the law. Police Statistics. — For police purposes, Gaya District is divided into thirteen police circles ((hands) with twenty-four outposts (ndkds). The present police force consists of four distinct bodies — namely, the regular or District police ; a municipal police for the protection of the towns and certain large villages ; a village watch or rural con stabulary ; and the tiigwdrs or road watchmen. The Regular Police consisted of the following strength at the end of 1872 : — Two superior European officers, maintained on a salary of Rs. 950 a month, or ^1140 a year; 5 subordinate officers, on a salary of upwards of Rs. 100 a month, or ^120 a year; and 99 lower class officers on less than Rs. 100 a month, or ,£120 a year, maintained at a total cost of Rs. 3020 a month, or ^3624 per annum, or an ave rage pay of Rs. 29-0-7 a month, or ^34, 17s. per annum for each subordinate officer; together with 499 foot police constables, and 10 mounted constables, maintained at a total cost of Rs. 3349 a month, or^'4018, 16s. per annum; the average annual pay of a mounted constable being Rs. 7 a month, or £8, 8s. per annum, and of a foot constable Rs. 6-6 a month, or £1, 13s. per annum. The other expenses connected with the District police are — Rs. 1 54-1 4-8 a month, or ^185, 18s. per annum, as travelling expenses for the Dis trict Superintendent and his Assistant; Rs. 190-5-4 a month, or ^228, 8s. per annum, for pay and travelling allowances for their office establishments; Rs. 180 a month, or ^216 per annum, for horse and travelling allowances ; and Rs. 988-14-8 a month, or ;£n86, 14s. a year, for contingencies and other expenses; bring ing up the total cost of the regular police in Gaya District in 1872 to Rs. 8833-2-8 a month, or ,£10,599, 16s. a year, and the total strength to 615 officers and men. The area of the District, as given in the Census Report of 1872, is 4718 square miles; and the population, as ascertained by the results of the Census, amounts to 1,949,750 persons. According to these figures, the strength of the regular police force of all ranks is one man to every 7-67 square miles as compared with the area, and one man to every 3170 persons as compared with the population. The duty of the mounted police is to patrol the roads ; they are stationed as follows: — Four on the Patna Branch Road; three at Barachatf, on the Grand Trunk Road ; one each at Gaya and Sherghatf ; and one as a reserve at Gaya, when not otherwise wanted. 128 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. The Municipal Police consisted in 1872 of a total force of 303 officers and men, of whom the majority, under Act III. of 1864, were stationed at Gayd ; and the remainder, under Act X. of 1856, were on duty in the towns of Tikdri, Sherghatf, Fathipur, Nawadd, Hasua, Rajaulf, Jahdndbad, Aurangdbdd, Ddiidnagar, Obra, and Nabinagar. The whole force was maintained in 1872 at a total cost of Rs. 1760-5-4 a month, or ^2112, 8s. per annum, derived from municipal taxes. The Village Watch or rural force consisted in 1872 of 6926 men, maintained at a total cost, paid by the landowners and culti vators, of Rs. 126,832, or ^12,683, 4s. Per annum, equal to an average payment of^i, 16s. for each village watchman. The average number of houses in each man's charge is 33. The strength of this rural force, compared with the area and population, is one man to every *68 square miles, or one man to every 281 persons. The pay of the rural police is supplemented by grants of rent-free land in every village, ca\\t& jdgir-pdsbdn. The Digwars or road police have been already referred to (p. 69). Their total number consists of 122 men, maintained at a total cost, paid by the landowners, of Rs. 655-8 a month, or ^786, 12s. per annum, equal to an average payment of Rs. 5-6 a month, or £6, 9s. per annum for each digwdr. The entire machinery, therefore, for protecting person and pro perty in Gayd District consisted in 1872 of a total force of 7966 officers and men, or one man to every -6 square miles, and one to every 244 of the population, maintained at a total cost of Rs. 21,818-5-4 a month, or a total for the year in 1872 of ^26,182 ; equal to a charge of Rs. 55-8, or ^5, 11s. per square mile, or R. 0-2-1 or 3^d. per head of the population. Criminal Statistics. — According to the Police Report for 1872, the number of " cognisable " cases conducted by the police in that year was 4120, in 568 of which, or 1378 per cent., convictions were obtained ; the number of persons brought to trial was 1486, of whom 851, or 57-27 per cent., were convicted. The number of the "non- cognisable " cases in the same year was 1003 ; in 61 2, process issued ; the number of persons who actually appeared before the Court was 1013, of whom 606, or 59^82 per cent., were convicted. The total number, therefore, of cognisable and non-cognisable cases in 1872 was 5123 ; the number of persons brought to trial under both these classes of crimes, 2499 ; and the number of persons finally convicted, CRIMINAL STATISTICS. 129 1457> being 5830 per cent, of those brought to trial, or '0747 per cent of the total population of the District. The crime of burglary is the great feature in the crime returns of Gayd District, as in other parts of Behar. As Mr Bour- dillon says, " The soft mud walls of the houses, the weary sleep of the inmates, the negligence (or often the acquiescence) of the chaukiddrs, combine with the adroitness of the burglar to render his trade easy and his identification a rare occurrence. Further, the property stolen generally consists of brass utensils, trumpery ornaments, clothing, cash, or grain; and when the same pattern prevails throughout a Province, the identification of the property is as difficult as the concealment of it is easy." These statements are abundantly proved by the District crime returns. The total number of cognisable cases reported in the year 1872 was 4120, of which the burglary cases formed 1964, or nearly one- half. Yet only 200 persons were arrested on this charge, and of those only 81 were finally convicted. The value of the property said to have been stolen was ^2777, 12s., of which only ^194, 14s., or about 7 per cent, was recovered. With regard to heinous crimes, there were eight cases of murder during the year 187 1, but convictions followed in only two instances. Dak&itis or gang- robberies are common. For the five years from 1868 to 1872, the annual numbers of these cases were 26, 37, 17, 12, and 16. The Inspector-General reports in 1872 that the police have signally failed in dealing with this crime, only four out of the sixteen cases having resulted in convictions. Gang dakditis are committed mostly by low- caste men, Dosadhs, Rajwars, and Musahars ; and sometimes by Ahirs or Goalas. The leaders are generally Rajputs or Bibhans. The crime is most common in the dry-weather months. In 1872 there was one atrocious case, in which a woman was caught and tortured to death by dakaits. It is commonly stated in Hazarfbagh Dis trict, where this crime is also prevalent, that all, or almost all, of the offenders come from Gayi. Cases of robbery decreased in 187 1 to 13 from 23 in the previous year. Gayi and the adjoining Dis trict of Shahdbdd exceed all other Districts of Bengal in the extraordinary prevalence of the crime of cattle-stealing. In 1870 there were 146 cases ; in 187 1, 172 cases ; and in 1872, 106 cases ; but, as the District Superintendent of Police remarks, only a very small proportion of these cases are reported, the victim usually prefer ring to pay the fixed rate to recover his animal, well knowing to VOL. XII. H 130 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. whom lie should apply for its recovery. Now, however, there is a dawn of better things, at any rate in the Jahdndbdd Sub division. In 1873-74, three gangs of professional cattle-stealers were broken up. I again quote Mr Bourdillon : — " The principal of these gangs was established at Mfrganj, a village composed entirely of Godlds, who for years had made a living by stealing cattle, and restoring them to their owners for a consideration. They had agents over miles of country, and a branch establishment at Shdhdbdd, to which cattle, if not redeemed, were sent. They had instituted a reign of terror; and for miles around they regularly laid landholders and cultivators, as well as shopkeepers and tradesmen, under contribution. This state of things went on, till at last a villager who had paid for the restoration of his stolen cattle, but who had been defrauded out of both cattle and money, appeared before me, and exposed the whole case. The matter was put into the hands of the police ; and the spell once broken, the whole country-side rose against their oppressors, and overwhelming evi dence was produced against them. Out of twenty-six adults who inhabited the village, fourteen were convicted, two died, one went mad, and the remaining nine have disappeared. It is not too much to say that this crime has been stamped out of that part of the country. The other two cases were of a similar though not so grave a nature." Criminal Classes. — There are four classes in Gayd District who may be considered as habitual criminals — namely, Godlds, Dosddhs, Bdbhans, and Doms. Cattle-lifting and grain-thefts are the special crimes of the first class ; lurking house-trespass, of the second ; riot and affrays, of the third ; and thefts, of the fourth. The following account, condensed from Mr Bourdillon's description of the criminal classes in the Jahdndbdd Subdivision, is applicable to the whole Dis trict : — " Of the 1286 persons who appeared or were brought up for trial at Jahdndbdd in the year 1873-74, 320, or nearly one-fourth, were Bdbhans; 284, or about two-ninths, were Godlds; and 129, or about one-tenth, were Dosddhs. There were only 23 Doms, but the number of Doms in this District is comparatively small. The proportion of criminals in that year to the gross population was .003 per cent. ; the percentage of Bdbhan criminals on the total Bdbhan population was -67 ; of Godld criminals on the total Goald population, -57; of Dosddhs on the total Dosddh population, .64; and of Doms 21 per cent. The Musalmdns CRIMINAL CLASSES. 131 are not a criminal class; but the least criminal of all are the Kurmis, only 12 out of 16,058 having made their appearance in the criminal court. The proportion of female to male criminals is very small. Of the average number of prisoners in the Gayd jail during the year 1871-72, less than 5 per cent, were females. The Godlds are described as the most obnoxious caste in Behar. They are continually engaged in that most exasperating form of theft which consists of petty thefts of crops from granaries and fields, as they never lose an opportunity of grazing their cattle on a neigh bour's crops. Insolent and quarrelsome, they form a universal brotherhood, which has spread a perfect system of espionage over the whole Subdivision. Cattle-lifting and burglary are their trades, and not a dakditi takes place without their assistance. Their mal practices are the more successful, because the whole force of the rural police consists of either this caste or the almost equally criminal one of Dosddhs. These Dosddhs are a more contemptible class than the Godlds. With all the Dosddh's predilection for crime, he wants the daring, the insolence, and the physique which make the Godld such a dangerous ruffian. Their crimes, therefore, are of a meaner description, such as petty thefts and skulking burglary. The Bdbhan class supply the leading spirits in a gang-robbery, riot, or any other mischief. When the crops are on the ground, or the reservoirs full of water, the Bdbhan's opportunity comes, and violent breaches of the peace occur in twenty villages at once. Besides this taste for rioting, this caste are remarkable for their litigiousness, and are ever ready to con test to the last halfpenny a neighbour's claim, or seize upon a poorer man's right. His crookedness of mind has passed into a proverb, ' Bdbhan bahut sidhd ho, to hasua he aisd,' — that is, ' Be the Bdbhan never so straightforward, yet he is as crooked as a sickle.' The Doms, who are the most criminal class compared with their numbers, are fortunately not very numerous. They are a degraded, miserable set of beings, who gain a sorry living by performing those unclean but necessary duties which are repugnant to all but the lowest classes in Bengal." Jail Statistics. — There are five jails in Gayd District, viz., the District jail at Gayd town, and Subdivisional lock-ups at Jahdndbad, Aurungdbdd, Nawddd, and Sherghdtf. Of these, the last is not used since the dissolution of the Subdivision in 1872. The following figures, showing the number of prisoners admitted into and discharged from the Gayd jail, the proportion of sickness and mortality, &c, for 132 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. the years 1857-58, 1860-61, and 1870, are compiled from statistics furnished by the Inspectors-General of Jails. Owing to a faulty method of preparing the returns in the earlier years, many prisoners were entered twice over, under-trial prisoners subsequently convicted being entered under both heads. It is impossible now to correct this error, and the figures for years prior to 1870 must be accepted with caution, and as only approximating to correctness. A new system of preparing the returns was introduced in 1870, and the figures given for that year may be taken as absolutely correct. In 1857-58 the daily average number of criminals, under-trial and civil prisoners, in the Gayd jail, amounted to 471. The total number discharged from all causes was as follows : — Transferred, 1 183; released, 1307; escaped, 473; died, 131; executed, 12; total, 3106. In 1860-61, the jail returns show a daily average of 5 1 3 prisoners ; the total discharges being as follows : — Transferred, 1 150 ; released, 1 159 ; escaped, 7; died, 149; executed, 2; total, 2467. In 1870, the daily average number of prisoners was 445 ; the total number discharged from all causes being 1299 — Transferred, 76; released, 1199; escaped, 4; died, 20; none executed. The Gayd jail was stigmatised by the Inspector-General of Jails for Bengal, in his Report for 1872, as "the worst-situated and worst-ventilated of all our large jails. It is situated in the most crowded part of the city, close to a main street, which has to be crossed to reach the jail hospital. The wards are so constructed that either health or discipline must suffer, as it is found necessary to leave the doors open at night. There is no room for solitary cells, or any other addi tion to the building. The workyard adjoins the public road ; and as there appeared to be a want of ventilation, pigeon-holes were pierced in the screen-wall, so that prisoners can communicate with the passers-by. It is useless to attempt to do anything for this jail ; nothing but an entirely new building will be of the slightest good. The Lieutenant-Governor directed me to reduce as much as possible the number of prisoners. I have done my best ; but the District is a criminal one, and the jail is always filling ; nor are all the long-term prisoners of a class who could be sent to central jails. At all events, however, we have been saved from the danger which would follow overcrowding. The death-rate is upwards of 7 per cent., and results from 28 deaths, a number which is rather above the average of late years, and considerably above the average of other jails. Formerly this was an extremely unhealthy jail. From 1857 JAIL STATISTICS. 133 to 1863, 544 prisoners died, being at the rate of 77 per annum. The jail buildings, it appears, were completed in 1802; and until 1 86 1 the prisoners received cash, and were allowed to purchase whatever kind of food they chose. Their allowance per diem was nine pies or i|d. a head, afterwards increased to one dnnd or i|d. Finally, a contract system was established, under which the con tractor was allowed from 1 dnnd i| pies to 1 dnnd 3 pies, or from 1 \\d. to 1 |d. per prisoner, which gave a fuller diet than the present scale. In those days the prisoners were not divided into messes, but each man cooked his food, or got it cooked how he could. In 1864, the Jail Code and present dietary scale came into force ; and in that year there was a decided and permanent decrease in the rate of mortality, which has continued since, only interrupted by a violent epidemic of dysentery in 1869. The higher mortality of the year under review is due to a similar outbreak, as 24 of the 28 deaths arc ascribed to dysentery. The hospital is, like the jail, exposed to all the damp, heat, mud, and dirt of low ground and a crowded town ; and much relief was found from the treatment of the sick in the police hospital, which is on the slope of a hill at a considerable distance from the town. The highest mortality was among men em ployed in carrying stone and earth into the jail, who were much exposed to the weather. None of the men employed on penal labour, which is very hard here, died ; and this comparative immunity is attributed to the fact of the work being carried on under protection from sun and rain." In 1857-58 there were 131 deaths, or 27-81 per cent. of the average jail population. In 1860-61, 149 deaths occurred, or 22-8 per cent., excluding 32 deaths which occurred among prisoners who were in transit from the North-West Provinces to Alipur. In 1870 the mortality had fallen to 20, or 4-49 per cent. There is now (1874) a new jail in course of construction, and we may hope that a diminished death-rate will be the result. The average cost of maintenance per prisoner, excluding cost of the police-guard (which is included in the Police Budget of the District), amounted to £5, 6s. 2d. per head in 1857-58, to j£4, 8s. 1 id. in 1860-61, and to £$, 7s. 9d. in 1870. The cost of the jail police-guard in 1870 amounted to 17s. 6|d. per head, making a gross charge to Government in that year of £4, 5s. 3|d. per prisoner. No materials exist showing the separate cost of police jail-guards for previous years. 134 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. Jail Manufactures and other work performed by the hard- labour prisoners contribute to reduce the cost of the jaiL In 1857-58 the value of jail manufactures, including stock remaining on hand at the end of the year, but excluding that in stock at the end of 1856-57 (which to the value of ^134, 13s. 2d. was destroyed by the Mutineers), amounted to ^83, ns., and the charges to ^£35, 2S., leaving a profit of ^48, 9s. The average earning of each prisoner engaged in jail manufactures amounted to j£i, 2s. 8d. In 1860-61, the total net receipts amounted to ^331, 13s. 5c!., and the charges to j£i8o, 6s. 4d., leaving a profit of ^151, 7s. id. The average earning of each prisoner engaged in jail manufactures amounted to 19s. 2d. In 1870 the total net receipts were jCaII, 3s. 3d., and the charges ^352, 6s. 8d., leaving as profit ^124, 16s. 7^d. The average earning of each prisoner employed in manufacture was 16s. id. Of the 155 prisoners employed in manufactures at the Gaya Jail in 1870, 20 were employed in gardening, 13 in cloth-making, 6 in bamboo and basket work, 8 in manufacturing oil, 55 in making string and twine, 15 in flour-grind ing, 10 in blanket-making, 18 in carpet-making, 2 in thread-spinning, 1 each in manufacturing gunny, brick, or in ^//-grinding, and 5 in other manufactures not specified. Educational Statistics. — Speaking of this District in the year 1 81 2, Dr Buchanan-Hamilton observed — "There are no public schools, and there is no guru or teacher who is not a servant to some wealthy man. The gurus, however, are generally allowed to instruct the children of the neighbours, and a hut is built for a schoolhouse without the village, lest the guru should have too frequent opportu nities of seeing the women. These schoolhouses are called pindas, a name applicable to several things considered sacred. In parts of the country where sugar-cane grows, the boiling-house usually serves for a school. The profit of the teachers is very small. Many chil dren are taught by their parents." At that time the Persian character was not used to write the Hindustani language, which, so far as Dr Ruchanan-Hamilton could learn, was entirely colloquial. Persian was the language used in the Courts. Many Hindus were taught to read and write the Persian character before they began Hindi ; but the greater part of them proceeded little further than understanding ■Mid writing a revenue account, and were not able either to fully jerstand or to indite a letter. Such an accomplishment entitled lan to be called a munsh't. Only one teacher with an endowment, EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS. 135 a maulvi at Sdhibganj, instructed a few pupils in the higher branches of Persian literature and in Arabic science. With regard to the three higher sciences of the Hindus, grammar, law, and metaphysics, there were about forty professors, all with small endowments, who had a few pupils whom they instructed in grammar and law ; but metaphysics was almost entirely neglected. For the high castes in the Districts of Patni and Behar there were in all 1 200 teachers, called pandits, some of whom were learned men ; but in general they had only a small knowledge of grammar, law, and astrology. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton estimated the total number of persons in the six police circles (which have been taken to represent the present District of Gaya) who were fit to act as writers, at 8930 persons. Taking the total population, as he estimated it, of these circles at 1,500,500, we find that only 6 per cent, of the total population (in cluding those who had come from other Districts to seek employ ment) were fit to act as writers. Sixty years after this estimate was made, Mr Bourdillon took an Educational Census of seven selected circles in the Tahandbdd Sub division, which contained an area of 105 square miles, 181 inhabited villages, and a population of 71,916 souls. Though each of these circles was chosen for some special reason, the results were surpris ingly similar. The agency employed was the same as in the general Census of 1872, namely, the village accountants (patwdris). Returns were obtained from them, showing the numbers of educated, half- educated, and ignorant persons in their villages, divided into Musal- nians and Hindus ; each of which classes was again subdivided into boys and men. Those were considered educated who could read and write any two languages. The term " half-educated " expressed those who could read and write any one language ; and the remainder were returned as ignorant. Out of the whole population, -o6 per cent, could read two languages ; about 5 per cent, could read one language ; and about 95 per cent, were absolutely ignorant. Of the total male population, 1 per cent, was educated ; 9 per cent, could read one language ; and 90 per cent, were ignorant. Lastly, of every 100 adult males, 1 could read two languages ; n could read one ; and 88 could neither read nor write. The comparative acquirements of Hindus and Muhammadans were found to be very much on a par ; but it is noticeable that the proportion of Muhammadan boys who know two languages to the Muhammadan population is nearly double the proportion of Hindu boys with similar acquirements; while Hindu ' 136 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. boys who can read one language are proportionally in excess of half- educated Muhammadan boys. This would tend to show that while the ambition of the average Hindu does not go beyond primary edu cation, which extends only to the teaching of the one language which is necessary for everyday use, Musalman boys are taught Persian and Urdu at private schools. In the year 1873, a very careful Educational Census was taken in two selected areas, one urban, and one rural, by order of the Com missioner. A tract within a radius of two miles round TikaYf was taken for the urban area, and a similar tract round the village of Khizar Sardf for the rural area. The urban area, which contained a population of 16,692, had 14 schools; the number of persons educated or receiving education was 1251, of whom 1052 were self- educated, and 199 educated in schools. In the rural area, which contained a population of 7644, there were 6 schools; the number of persons educated or receiving education was 418, of whom 327 were self-taught, and 91 educated in schools. The percentages de rived from these figures may be taken as approximately true for the whole District : — Percentage ot Persons Educated or receiving Proportion Education. of Popula In Schools. Selt-taught. tion to Under Above 1 Schools. twelve twelve years. years. Urban area . I UJ2 61 1 1 63 '•3 Rural area... 1274 41 11 4-a The following table, compiled from the reports of the Education Department, gives the number of schools of each description, num ber and religion of pupils, cost of each to Government, and amount subscribed by private contributions, subscriptions, &c., for the years ,856-57, 1860-61, and 1870-71 :— „• -. S i* 0 - r* 0 t. O ■ :. 0 i M - 0 jO 0 -J in m « o ■t » - o 0 H I ij ^ r- : vo o *B I 00 CO o H s»3; CO 1 k. *^j io co -1■ x » « CO 10 V5 J m ■^ •i m oa 0 vO £ •;*i r^ Oi in O CO ■♦ •2 J s»5 c r* "1 < n t; « •^ » .•5 b. J M^ 0 CO > — * *i •; £■ £ 1 I s T n CO ■*■ y» i3 wi 35 •tj >i ^- •n O t^ I•* c fcj> 0 b. 10 4" 8 ■S m0 y c - tss 10 5 r^ M •;«i K i*1 k m r* 0 a vK wi 6a ^0 ut m g o t •. 0 « io O " 0 o *& o t^. tj 0 m - 2 c J> i-i ° t- CO c c s?R £ tn s •ii-oi8i 0 u K n w •3 •19-0951 i0 a £? iC. u H a •M-9S8I =8 n 10 jU-oZ8i 10 « : " rf •l9-°98' - : : " •iS-958i " ■ < 3 O : •iZ-oZgi 0 CO 0 z ? H Is i W 19-098' 9 " 3 i an •«-9S8i V5 ft CO « Hs, ? ■sl-olgi > i s "1 - s c 3 a •lo-oggi "O '- r^ ■■ ** u. o •«-9S8' * CO •ii-oigi - "*, io z 1 -3 NO M * i'sj ■19-0981 - *»1 : r 2: tn «-9S9i - W ■ ^ W to ■ £■!* js : . ; y c ■/ : I t Ed- ~ — u : z £«5 W : t t si 7. *i » = x •a J H 0 ■ - S C c c ■4* -- 7) 0 0 < 2 138 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. Sir G. Campbell's Educational Reforms. — The Lieutenant- Governor, in his Resolution dated February 1872, remarks that "the Gayd District school has 170 boys, and it did well last year at the university examinations. There are in the Dis trict 5 aided English schools, 15 Government vernacular, and 51 aided and unaided vernacular schools. In all these schools there are 2405 boys on the rolls ; but the Commissioner reports that the attendance is not good ; that the people do not like the English method of education, but prefer to send their children to the Muhammadan priests to be taught. It is hoped that in this way more boys get taught than would appear from our returns." The Inspector of the Division in 187 1 notices the remarkable progress of English and vernacular schools during the last six or seven years. While admitting that the number of private and aided schools is inconsiderable, compared with the number of similar schools over an equal area in Bengal, he contends that in proficiency the Gaya High School approximates very closely to the more favoured institu tions in the Central and South-East Divisions. With regard to middle- class schools, he finds that Gayd District excels the other Districts of Behar in the number and quality of its schools. Of the lower vernacular schools, or pdthsdlds, he says that the refusal of the Government of India to sanction so small a sum as ten shillings for each school within the limits of the assignments for grants in aid, amounts practically to a denial of primary education to the people. This defect has now been remedied, and primary education is making rapid progress throughout the District, in spite of the extraordinary distrust with which the Government scheme was at first received. The ignorant masses of the population, for whose special benefit these aided pathsdlds were established, had per suaded themselves that Government had some deep design on their lives or liberties. The paid teachers (gums) were looked .upon as Government spies ; and the pupils who were foolish enough to attend their schools were to be forced to emigrate, or possibly to be sold as slaves to the King of Burmah. This strange but widely- spread feeling has hardly yet been uprooted from the minds of the lower classes. In many villages where there are two schools, one aided and the other maintained only from fees paid by the scholars, the pupils at the latter, where the fees are higher, generally exceed in number those who get an equally good education at a less expense. EDUCA TIONAL STATISTICS. '39 1 •*2 0 0 O 'O 0 W M - tN *■ •* »o n lO ;unjipii3dxg M M H nO 'J-OO CO sffi CO CO >o M M **• N CO o (s. ■x-2 0 OO NO O CI CM M fN "rt ^ * U") 0 CO CO 0 CO CO CI CO H no -t- On o NO ON \n NO a sj'S cooo w CO -o M M »0 a CO « •a * - cn mM « O o NO S *. u »•« ; 00 On CO o : O t feci ct NO NO ■<*- *3 ■*3 no m Oi Cn On On ON 0 PS ■ o> ON M - co r^oo * CO CO - s?-1- PI "8 i-. n n ts* O NO N *n »o M H Ml . « o t : o : co CO CI CO £ ° s C r. •ireiswj « ; O* iO -1- 00 ■oiqiMV : :o O o £ : : -t CO Cn M JS IPU!H . NO s .2 a •I|c3u»y co CO £ to o •juipurg I N1- 2 no : * * h ON i/l lOCO 'Ms!l3u3 8 = ; CO < S|idnj Mro o— —m -— JO 3* iy 8Sb»av 8 C/3 •3 juKpiiajiv « h mio Xfqiuow 3Suj3av -J- 0 0\vO f) M - UI SJldflf] JO "Ojsj ■CZg1 '*£ ipJ^W uo o m Q CO On O O co 0 CI NO Cx J? R H m 1 S||dn(j j') -o^ NO M ON COM *t t^ CO -sjooipsjo «N CO CO = w W o ►J ■Xi •- s » I Ed o •Is* ° 5 - >' B a * u . H ^ 1 4 ;9S - 1 ■3 o -• * o 12 c ! i - -:d5 > 3 u 5 s < '.'.;.. ' :/ c.AYA DISTRICT. «.»«■.» if.n/i.:,v n Ur Kniwtxi put of the District, was f/>^tf, a i>i'r 1: \t//) t ^vnii««'J two Courts, a regular p:oDr ftyv 4 *; >Mvn% MS, rc-i. «/C a. v.liagc watch of 147 1 men: -. -re *y\n\* ttrt i A v\munt ut//!> kuc/unted 10^3588, 7s. It crra:- p,w\ jHw ">,)»* juilu c < irrlo (lhini%) of Nawadi, RajanK, edi ~-V- - wti\'»U, wl lonuinn an area of toao square miles, 1:55 ^.--^ ) , (/.< \ « .. .. •w.t >m* of adnursmaw: =5=- - ^-~~ - .uatwr, - V..ihuuwliv, « ■** — -" = „^.>. l>vS70 hOMSTN i-- - — •.■=• »~.*«4 "^ Btt*'" iT" ■ " ~ ' ,■*? ^? *- "-- cr ^ FISCAL DIl'ISIOXS. 143 the District, and was created in 1852. It contained, in 1869, two Courts, 114 regular police, 1249 village watchmen ; and the adminis tration in that year cost .£3253, 7s. iod. The present Subdivision of Jahandbdd lies to the north and north-west of the District. It comprises the two police circles of Arwal and Jahandbdd, and con tains an area of 599 square miles, 1083 villages, 56,494 houses, and a population of 354,220 souls; viz., 175,005 males, 179,215 females; the proportion of males to the total population being 49*40 per cent. The Hindus number 319,292, or 90-13 per cent of the total popu lation ; the proportion of Hindu males to the total Hindu popula tion being 49-80. The Muhammadans number 34,899, or 9-85 per cent, of the total population ; the proportion of Muhanimadan males to the total Muhammadan population being 45-73 per cent. Christians, 20, of whom half are males. " Others," 9. Average density of the population, 591-35 per square mile; number of inhabitants per village, 327-07 ; number of houses, 94-31 per square mile ; number of inmates per house, 6-27. Fiscal Divisions. — The following list of Fiscal Divisions or pur- gdnds comprised in Gayd District is compiled from the Board of Revenue Pargdnd Statistics, corrected in some particulars by later information. The Board statistics, though full of inaccuracies, are the best that I could obtain. The pargdnds have been grouped under the Subdivisions in which they are situated. In the Sadr or head-quarters Subdivision there are eight pargatids. (1) GayA contains an area of 2519 acres, or 3-93 square miles. It comprises 7 estates, pays a Government land-revenue of ^8S, 6s., and is situated within the jurisdiction of the subordinate Judge's Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 2 estates, 1 proprietor, 1 mustdjir or farmer ; and the Government land-revenue was .£33, 4s. 8d. (2) Dakhnair. — Area, 15,790 acres, or 24-67 square miles; 18 estates; Government land-revenue, ^795, 12s. ; Court at Gayd. In • 79° there were 2 estates, 2 proprietors; and the Government revenue was ;£62o, 10s. (3) Mahair. — Area, 321,964 acres, or 503-06 square miles; 245 estates; and Government land-revenue ^6860, 18s. ; Courts at Gayd, Nawddd, and Aurangdbdd. In 1790 there were 24 estates, 35 proprietors, 22 mustdjirs; and the Government revenue was ^5588, 4s. (4) Pahara (partly in Nawddd Subdivision). Area, 87,432 acres, or 136-61 square miles; 35 estates ; Government land-revenue Mo STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GA YA DISTRICT. The table on the preceding page, which is taken verbatim from the Education Report for 1872-73, gives the number of schools of each class, the number of pupils, the language taught, and the cost of instruction for that year. It will be seen that the total number of pupils subject to the Education Department has increased from 574 in 1856-57 to 816 in 1860-61, to 1367 in 1870-71, and to 7475 in 1872-73. According to the Education Report of 1873-74, the total number of schools in Gayd had risen in that year to 446, and the total number of pupils to 8139. These figures show one school to every 10-50 square miles, and the percentage of schools to the population to be -002. Postal Statistics. — The progress in the operations of the Post- Oftice during the ten years from 1861-62 to 1870-71 will be seen from the following table : — 1861-62. 1865-66. 1870-71. Total Letters Received 282,834 '37.986 211,342 Total Newspapers Received . 19,089 7,349 7,898 Total Parcels Received 4517 2,756 1.832 Total Books Received . 982 981 1,068 Total Letters Despatched 469,914 175,922 t Total Newspapers Despatched 1,710 743 Total Parcels Despatched 2,626 ',183 Total Books Despatched '93 348 £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Total Postal Receipts* 572 6 4 683 13 8 "37 0 5 Total Postal Expenditure 756 13 0 426 17 2 1596 17 8 It may be convenient to remark that, as regards postal hours, Gayd town is about the same distance from Bombay as Calcutta, Up- country letters and mails from Bombay, which arrive at Bdnkipur about 4 p.m., are despatched by cart the same evening, and reach Gayd early on the following morning. Letters for Bombay should be posted in Gayd by 6 p.m., nineteen hours before the mail-train passes Bankipur. Up to this present year (1875) the mails were carried throughout all parts of the District by runners. The mail- bag was slung at one end of a bamboo, and the keys were attached to the other, and the carriers used to travel all night. Now, there is a mail-cart with relays of ponies running between Bdnkipur and * Exclusive of the sale of postage-stamps. t The figures respecting the despatch of letters, newspapers, &c, have not yet been received. SUBDIVISION.il ADMINISTRATION. 141 Gayd, which accomplishes the distance in about ten hours. For other parts of the District the running carriers are still used. ZamIndArI DAk. — Besides the imperial Post-Office, there was up to the present year, (1875), as in other parts of Behar, a postal arrangement under the management of the Collector of the District called the zaminddri dak. This system has been well and cheaply worked, and was liked by the local authorities. But an arrangement for carrying letters in which the imperial postal authorities could not interfere, was liable to some objection ; and therefore the management of these zaminddri lines is now being made over to the Postmaster- General and his subordinates. During the year 1874-75, the total cost of the zaminddri dak in this District was j£723> 4s- ', and the percentage on the revenue, that is, the rate of assessment, was njd. Administrative Divisions. — For administrative purposes Gaya District is divided into the four following Subdivisions. The admi nistrative statistics are taken from the special report furnished by the Collector in 1870, and the population figures are derived from state ments I A and I B in the Appendix to the Census Report of 1872. The Sadr Subdivision of GayA, with the head-quarters of the Dis trict, contained in r£69 twelve magisterial and revenue courts, and a total police force of 330 officers and men, besides 3104 village watch men. The total cost of Subdivisional administration, including magis terial and revenue courts and police, amounted in that year to ^9839, 14s. 6d. This Subdivision comprises the six police circles {thdnds) of Gayd municipality, Gayd, Atrf, Tikdrf, Sherghdtf, and Birdchatl. It contains an area of 1853 square miles, 2667 villages or towns, 134,504 houses, and a total population of 759,270 souls, of whom 371,414 are males and 387,856 females; proportion of males to total population, 48-9 per cent. The Hindus number 663, 48T, or 87-4 per cent. ; the proportion of Hindu males to the total Hindu population being 49-32 per cent. The Musalmdns number 95,579, or i2-6 of the total population ; the proportion of Musalmdn males to the total Musalmin population being 46 -i per cent. The Christians number 146, or -02 of the total population ; the proportion of males to the total population being 55-47 per cent. Other denominations (including Jains, followers of the Brarima Samaj, &c.) are stated in the Census Report to number only 64, but there is reason to believe that these numbers are below the mark. Average density of population per square mile, 409-75 ; number of persons per village, 28469 ; number of houses per square mile, 72-5 ; and number of persons per house, 5"64- 142 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. NawAda Subdivision, in the eastern part of the District, was created in 1845. In 1869 it contained two Courts, a regular police force of 83 officers and men, and a village watch of 147 1 men ; the separate cost of administration amounted to ^3588, 7s. It com prises the three police circles (thdnds) of Nawddd, Rajaulf, and Pakrf- bardnwdn, and contains an area of 1020 square miles, 1052 villages, 72,968 houses, and a total population of 444,996 souls; viz., 221,946 males and 223,050 females; proportion of males to total population, 49-87 per cent. The Hindus number 399,905, or 89-86 per cent. of the Subdivisional population ; the proportion of Hindu males to the total Hindu population being 50-i5 per cent. The Musal- mans number 44,876, or 10-08 per cent. of the Subdivisional popu lation ; the proportion of Musalmdn males to the total Musalmdn population being 47-39 per cent. Christians, 2, both males; other denominations, 213. Average density of population, 436-27 per square mile ; number of inhabitants per village, 423 ; number of houses per square mile, 71-53; number of inmates per house, 6-09. AurangAbAd Subdivision, in the south-west of the District, was created in August 1865. It contained in 1869 two Courts, a police force of 141 officers and men, and a village watch of 2092 men ; the separate cost of administration amounted to ^4736, 2s. It comprised the four police circles of Aurangdbdd, Daudnagar, Nabfnagar, and Majhianwdn ; of which the last named was trans ferred to Lohdrdagd in 187 1. It contains an area of 1246 square miles, 1728 villages, 63,879 houses, and a population of 391,264 souls; of whom 185,764 are males and 205,500 females; the pro portion of males to the total population being 47-47 per cent. The Hindus number 347,221, or 8874 per cent. of the total population ; the proportion of Hindu males to the total Hindu population being 47-92 per cent. The Muhammadans number 43,978, or 11^23 Per cent. of the total population; the proportion of Muhammadan males to the total Muhammadan population being 43-88 percent. Christians, 35, of whom 22, or nearly two-thirds, are males. Other denominations, 30. Average density of population, 314-01 per square mile; number of inhabitants per village, 226-42; num ber of houses per square mile, 51 26 ; number of inmates per house, 6-I2. JahAnAbAd Subdivision was established in 1872, when the Sub division of Sherghdtf was abolished. The latter lay in the south of ^ FISCAL DIVISIONS. 143 the District, and was created in 1852. It contained, in 1869, two Courts, r14 regular police, 1249 village watchmen ; and the adminis tration in that year cost ^3253, 7s. iod. The present Subdivision of Jahdndbdd lies to the north and north-west of the District. It comprises the two police circles of Arwal and Jahdndbdd, and con tains an area of 599 square miles, 1083 villages, 56,494 houses, and a population of 354,220 souls; viz., 175,005 males, 179,2^ females; the proportion of males to the total population being 49-40 per cent. The Hindus number 319,292, or 90-i3 per cent. of the total popu lation ; the proportion of Hindu males to the total Hindu popula tion being 49-80. The Muhammadans number 34,899, or 9-85 per cent. of the total population ; the proportion of Muhammadan males to the total Muhammadan population being 4573 per cent. Christians, 20, of whom half are males. " Others," 9. Average density of the population, 591-35 per square mile; number of inhabitants per village, 327-07 ; number of houses, 94-31 per square mile; number of inmates per house, 6-27. Fiscal Di visions. —The following list of Fiscal Divisions ox par- gdnds comprised in Gayd District is compiled from the Board of Revenue Pargdnd Statistics, corrected in some particulars by later information. The Board statistics, though full of inaccuracies, are the best that I could obtain. The pargdnds have been grouped under the Subdivisions in which they are situated. In the Sadr or head-quarters Subdivision there are eight pargands. (1) GayA contains an area of 2519 acres, or 3-93 square miles. It comprises 7 estates, pays a Government land-revenue of ^88, 6s., and is situated within the jurisdiction of the subordinate Judge's Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 2 estates, 1 proprietor, 1 mustdjir or farmer ; and the Government land-revenue was ^33, 4s. 8d. (2) Dakhnair. — Area, 15,790 acres, or 24-67 square miles; 18 estates; Government land-revenue, ^795, 12s. ; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 2 estates, 2 proprietors; and the Government revenue was ^620, 10s. (3) Mahair. — Area, 321,964 acres, or 503-06 square miles; 245 estates ; and Government land-revenue ^6860, 18s. ; Courts at Gayd, Nawddd, and Aurangdbdd. In 1790 there were 24 estates, 35 proprietors, 22 mustdjirs ; and the Government revenue was ^5588, 4s. (4) Pahara (partly in Nawddd Subdivision). Area, 87,432 acres, or 136-61 square miles; 35 estates ; Government land-revenue 144 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. ^2989,145; Court at Gayit. In 1790 there were 6 estates, 7 pro prietors; and the Government revenue was ^2924, 10s. (5) Sanaut. — Area, 211,123 acres, or 335*1 7 square miles; 124 estates; Government land-revenue, ^13,835, 18s. ; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 6 estates, 12 proprietors, 6 mustdjirs, and the Government revenue was ^i 2,009, 4s. The figures for 1790 include 62 acres now in Patnd District. (6) Atrf. — Area, 29,565 acres, or 46-i9 square miles; 1 estate; Government land-revenue, ^425, 8s.; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there was 1 estate, 1 proprietor, and the Government revenue was ^473. i°s. (7) SherghAtI— Area, 474,399 acres, or 734-55 square miles ; 357 estates ; Government land-revenue, .£9837, 4s. ; Court at Aurangd- bdd. In 1790 there were 57 estates, 114 proprietors, 2 musldjirs, and the Government revenue was ^7366, 17s. (8) KAbar. — Area, 65,208 acres, or ior88 square miles; 141 estates; Government land-revenue, ^6324; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 35 estates, 99 proprietors, 2- mustdjirs, and the Government revenue was ^4934, 18s. In Jahdndbdd Subdivision there are four pargdnds. (9) Arwal. — Conterminous with the police circle of the same name, whose area is given in the Census Report at 223 square miles. It comprises 299 villages, and the population is 15,267. According to the Board Statistics the area is 185,399 acres, or 289-68 square miles; 543 estates; Government revenue, ^10,572, 6s.; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 53 estates, 62 proprietors, 4 mustdjirs, and the Government revenue was ^5174, 15s. (10) Ekil. — Area, 97,935 acres, or 153-02 square miles; 372 estates ; Government land-revenue, ^9436, 2s. ; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 113 estates, 174 proprietors, 2 mustdjirs, and the Government revenue was ^7980, 19s. (1 1) BhalAwar.— Area, 88,234 acres, or 137-86 square miles ; 245 estates; Government land-revenue, ^6513, 2s. ; Court at Aurangd- bdd. In 1790 there were 54 estates, 94 proprietors, 1 mustdjir, and the Government revenue was ^5118, 10s. (12) Okri. — Area, 66,436 acres, or 103-8 square miles; 217 estates; Government land-revenue, ^7912, 8s.; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 57 estates, 88 proprietors, and the Government revenue was ^5587, 6s. The figures for 1 790 include 969 acres now in Patna District. FISCAL DIVISIONS. 145 There are seven pargdnds in the Aurangdbdd Subdivision. (13) CharkAnwAn. — Area, 142,423 acres, or 222-52 square miles ; 96 estates ; Government land-revenue, ^5953, 4s. ; Court at Auran- gdbdd. In 1790 there were 54 estates, 82 proprietors, 4 mustdjirs, and the Government revenue was ^7295, 10s. (14) Manorah. — Area, 46,168 acres, or 72- 13 square miles; 73 estates; Government land-revenue, ^3270, 16s. ; Court at Aurangd bdd. In 1790 there were 18 estates, 33 proprietors, 3 mustdjirs, and the Government revenue was ^3048, 4s. (15) Siris. — Area, 240,858 acres, or 376-34 square miles; 232 estates ; Government land-revenue, £10,539, 6s. ; Court at Aurangd bdd. In 1790 there were 65 estates, 85 proprietors, 4 mustdjirs, and the Government revenue was ^10,359, 10s. (16) AnchhA. — Area, 52,429 acres, or 81^92 square miles; 201 estates ; Government land-revenue, ^3406 ; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 15 estates, 20 proprietors, 2 mustdjirs, and the Govern ment revenue was ^735, 11s. (17) Goh. — Area, 43,163 acres, or 67-44 square miles ; 149 estates ; Government land-revenue, ^3172, 4s.; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 9 estates, 16 proprietors, and the Government revenue was ^651, 1 os. (18) DAdar. — Area, 17,663 acres, or 27-59 square miles; 53 estates ; Government land-revenue, ^1579, 2s. ; Court at Gayd. In 1790 there were 17 estates, 67 proprietors, and the Government revenue was ^1576, 5s. (19) KutumbA. — Area, 196,301 acres, or 307-i1 square miles; 250 estates; Government land-revenue, ^7918, 8s.; Court at Aurangdbdd. In 1790 there were 71 estates, 76 proprietors, and the Government revenue was ^7704, 2s. In Nawddd Subdivision there are five pargdnds. (20) Jarah. — Area, 98,437 acres, or 153-8 square miles; 88 estates ; Government land-revenue, ^2649, 4s. ; Court at Nawddd. In 1790 there were 7 estates, 7 proprietors, and the Government revenue was ^1134, 9s. (21) Narhat. — Area, 174,587 acres, or 275-95 square miles ; 264 estates ; Government land-revenue, ^8038, 2s. ; Courts at Gayd and Nawdda. In 1790 there were 47 estates, 49 proprietors, and the Government revenue was ^6434, 13s. The figures for 1790 include 6817 acres now in Patnd District. (22) Pachri5ki. — Area, 94,848 acres, or 148-2 square miles; 11o VOL. XII. 1 146 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. estates ; Government land-revenue, ^3003, 18s. ; Court at Nawddd. In 1790 there were 4 estates, 7 proprietors, and the Government revenue was ^974, 7s. (23) Roh. — Area, 130,075 acres, or 203.24 square miles; 97 estates ; Government land-revenue, ^3804, 18s. ; Court at Nawdda. In 1790 there were 6 estates, 6 proprietors, and the Government revenue was ^1795, 4s. (24) SAmAi. — Area, 152,394 acres, or 241-i0 square miles; 369 estates; Government land-revenue, ^7765, 6s.; Court at Nawdda. In 1790 there were 21 estates, 23 proprietors, and the Government revenue was ^4648, 15s. The figures for 1799 include 8912 acres now in Patnd District. (25) BflonjA. — Area, 301,146 acres, or 470-54 square miles; 47 estates; Government land-revenue, ^1034, 16s. This pargdnd was transferred to the District of Lohdrdagd in 187 1; as also was another small pargdnd called Japld, which is not mentioned in the Board Statistics. These figures show that since 1790 the number of estates has increased in each pargdnd, except Atrf ; and that the Government revenue has also increased in every pargdnd with the exception of Atri and Charkdnwdn. In one pargdnd, Goh, the revenue is more than five times as great as it was in 1790. Medical Aspects — The Climate. — The Civil Surgeon of Gayd reported in 1869, that. "from a medical point of view, the District of Gayd may be considered as highly sanitary. The air is particularly dry, and the drinking water is good." It is this dry heat which specially distinguishes the climate of the District from that of Lower Bengal. The year is divided into three seasons — hot, rainy, and coid. The hot weather commences about the middle of March, and lasts till the 8th or 10th of June, when the rainy season sets in, and continues till the end of October ; the cold weather then commences, and lasts till March. The average annual temperature is about 79-98. During the months of May and June in 1869, the thermometer stood as high as from 1120 to 1150 in the shade, under the meteorological shed ; but that year was unusually hot, and several deaths from heat-apoplexy were reported by the police. The solar radiation thermometer has stood as high as 1760 and 180°. Such heat would be unendurable to Europeans but for the hot west winds, which generally blow during the hottest days in the year. Thick mats, made of kliaskhas grass, are placed in MEDICAL ASPECTS: ENDEMIC DISEASES. 147 front of all windows opening to the west, and are constantly- wetted ; and the hot air in passing through is rendered cool by this means. The average annual rainfall at the town of Gayi is 35 '59 inches, the wettest month being July, in which the average rainfall is 12-49 inches. At Nawidd, the average annual rainfall is 48-73 inches, the wettest month being August, in which the average rain fall is 13-25 inches. At Aurangabdd, the average annual rainfall is 44-28 inches, the wettest month being July, in which the average rain- tall is 13-12 inches. In 1867, a very wet year, the rainfall at Gaya amounted to 61/S inches; and in 1868 only 27-41 inches of rain fell throughout the year. In the famine year of 1873-74, the total rain fall was -37-06 inches ; but half of this, viz., 18-44 inches, fell in July, while no rain at all fell in October or November, and in December only -6 of an inch of rain was recorded. The average rainfall at Gaya has been calculated from observations extended over eleven years ; but the rainfall both at Nawida and Aurangibad has only been observed for four years, and therefore the averages recorded at these two Subdivisional towns must be taken as only approximately correct The Hindu year is divided into 27 nachhalras; and the rains are named after the nachhatra in which they fall. The following twelve nachhatras occur in the order given between May and the end of October : — Rohinl, Nirbisrd, Adra, Punarkts, Puk, Asresa, Mag/id, Purbd, Ullard, Hatiyd, Chitrd, and Sawdti. Of these, the Hatiyd should have a heavy downpour, and the Sawdti some showers for the sake of the rabl crops. During the famine year of 1873-74, no rain fell in either of these two nachhatras ; hence the scarcity. Endemics. — The following diseases are reported to be endemic in this District : — Cholera, smallpox, leprosy, neuralgic headache, and the " Gayd sore." Every now and then an outbreak of cholera takes place in this or that part of the District, when there is no general epidemic prevailing. Smallpox is endemic, owing to the strong objection the people have to vaccination. The Civil Surgeon in 1869 was of opinion that nothing short of compulsion would ever induce them to submit to the operation. They worship the goddess Sftala, or Matd, who presides over smallpox, and imagine that vaccination provokes her to visit their offence with smallpox in a deadly form. Even the inoculators of the Mali caste, employed as vaccinators, could get only a few subjects. During the last few years there has been a change for the better ; but the prejudice is very deeply rooted 148 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. in the minds of the people. Leprosy is said to be common in all its phases, especially the ulcerative and anaesthetic varieties. Scrotal elephantiasis is frequently met with, as also elephantiasis of the leg (Barbadoes leg). Hydrocele is very common. Neuralgic headache, indigenous to the town and District, occurs in the form of hemi- crania, and is very intense. It often returns periodically, and at times defies every kind of treatment. It is owing, the Civil Surgeon believes, in a great measure to the great heat and peculiar dryness of the atmosphere. The " Gayd sore " commences as a cluster of small vesicles, which coalesce and form a large one ; this then rup tures, and leaves an ulcerated surface, irritable and tiresome to heal. Cholera occurred in an epidemic form in 1866, in which year the number of deaths from this disease in the town of Gayd was esti mated at 600, and in the District at from 1200 to 1400. It prevailed from early in June till the middle of November, being most fatal in the months of June and July, after which it began to subside, owing, in the opinion of the Civil Surgeon, to a violent thunderstorm on the 27th July, which cleared the air. It made its appearance first at Arwal, forty miles north-west of Gayd town, thence it pro ceeded to Goh, in the same line ; thence to Nawddd, north-east from Gayd ; thence to Atrf, east from Gaya, and thence to the Subdivisions of Sherghdtf and Aurangdbad. The Civil Surgeon gives the following account of another epidemic of cholera in 1869 : — " The outbreak commenced at Baniyddganj, a village on the opposite side of the river Phalgtl, close to the town of Gayd ; but the western Subdivision of Aurangdbdd suffered most. The disease advanced in no decided line ; appearing first at one part of the District, and then at another, without any assignable reason. It did not radiate from a centre, nor could its origin be traced to a fair. No part of the District alto gether escaped. The disease did not follow any lines of traffic, but appeared irrespective of them. There was no evidence of importa tion, nor of communicability from man to man. I do not think that epidemics of cholera in this District are dependent upon or asso ciated with the assemblage of pilgrims who visit Gayd ; for it prevails most regularly in those months in which the sacred places are least visited." The following table gives the total number of admissions into the Gayd Jail Hospital from cholera for thirty years past, month by month. The figures are a fair criterion of the general prevalence of the disease throughout the District, or at least in Gayd town, as in epi RELIGIOUS FAIRS AND GATHERINGS. "49 demic visitations of the disease the prisoners in jail would scarcely escape, especially when no quarantine has been established. Total Admissions from Cholera into GayX Jail Hospital, Month by Month, from 1840 to 1869. u|4 February. 1! la January. 3 i E E 3 3 B u V M V i O > 0 ■ 0 3 3 5 < —i 3 < to O 3i» 1 93 152 ill 82 36 35 19 13 8 7 ] 7 On this table it may be remarked that pilgrims come in large numbers in the months of March, September, and December. In the four worst months, June, July, August, and May, very few pilgrims attend. The figures for March appear excessive ; but 39 of these cases happened in 1843, 8 in 1842, and 11 in 1845, leaving 24 cases only for the remaining period of twenty-five years. Of Cattle Disease the Civil Surgeon could give no information, except that the police sometimes reported that the disease known as mdtd prevailed amongst the cattle ; but such reports were never substantiated upon investigation. Fairs as Causes of Disease. — The Civil Surgeon is of opinion that fairs, lasting as they do only for a day or two, do not con stitute a source of disease. Neither do religious gatherings or pilgrimages. He estimates the annual number of pilgrims to Gayd at from 100,000 to 200,000, and gives the following list of fairs and religious festivals and assemblies, as taking place in that city: — (1) Dasahara occurs on the 25th Aswin (September) in honour of the goddess Dttrgd. The number of people collected is estimated at 20,000. (2) Ashndn occurs on the 30th Kartik (October). About 5000 people assemble to bathe in the river Phdlgu. (3) Chhath, on the 2 2d Kartik (October), is a gathering attended by about 5000 people, in honour of the sun-god. (4) BisMh, a movable feast held in honour of Vishnu, occurs in Baisdkh or Chait (April or March). About 5000 people collect to eat the newly-cut rabl grain. Grain is also given away in charity. (5) The Muharram, a Muhammadan festival, collects about 30,000 people, many of whom are Hindus. The time of its celebration is changed every three years. (6) Tilshaukardt, a movable feast resembling 150 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. the Bisiidh, occurs in Paush or Mdgh (December or January). About 1000 people collect to eat the new rice and other crops that have been lately cut. (7) Sauni-sail occurs on the 30th San wan (July). About 5000 Hindus collect for feasting and other amusements. The following are the chief fairs or religious gatherings in the interior: — (1) At Deokund, in pargdnd Arwal, there is a fair, with religious ceremonies in honour of Siva. About 5000 people collect on the 13th or 14th Phdlgun (February). (2) At Kishanpur, in par gdnd Kutumbd, there is a fair called Rdmnaumi, held in honour of Rdm's birthday, on the 24th Chait (March). About 4000 collect. (3) At Deo, in pargand Charkdnwdn, the gathering called Chhat, as in Gayd, collects about 1000 people twice in the year, on the 2 2<1 Kartik (October), and on the 22d Chait (March). (4) At Bhardri in pargand Goh, the Ashndn collects about 1500 persons on the 30th Kartik (October), as in Gayd. (5 and 6) At Jahandbdd and Jamor in pargdnd Siris, this festival of Ashndn is also held. About 1000 people collect at each place. (7) At Raffganj, the Bisiidh is held as in Gayd. About 2000 people collect. (8) At Saresd, in pargdnd Maher, the Sheordtri, a festival in honour of Siva, collects some 2000 people, on the 13th or 14th Phalgun, as at Deokund. (9) At Nad- rah, near Khizar-saraf, there are illuminations called the Chirdghah, in honour of a Musalmdn saint. There is a gathering of about 2000 persons on the 25th Phdlgun (February). (10) At Bithu also, a village two miles north of Gayd, the Chirdghah collects some 1000 persons, on or about the 9th Paush (December). (11) At Tendud, about four miles south of Gayd, there is a Musalmdn gathering to celebrate the marriage of Ghdzt Mia, attended by about 4000 persons, mostly of low caste, on the 26th Jeth (May). At these fairs the staple articles of commerce are rings, necklets, and anklets for women ; tikuli cakes, sweetmeats, &c. Cows and horses, &c., are also brought in large numbers for sale. Indigenous Drugs. — Nearly all the articles of materia medica which are procurable in the markets of the North-West Provinces are also to be obtained from the paisdris at Gayd. Of indigenous medicines the Civil Surgeon gives the following list : — (1) Opium ; (2) Tobacco ; (3) Limes; (4) Oranges; (5) Mint; (6) Nlm (Azadirachta Indica); (7) Chillies (Idl mircli) ; (8) Linseed (tisi) ; (9) Bel (-'Egle marmelos) ; (10) Dhatura (Datura stramonium); (11) Belladonna ; (12) Kala- donna; (13) Kutki ; (14) Dhund ; (15) Ginger (adrdkh); (16)Aniseed ; (17) Kat-karej (Csesalpinia bonducella) ; (18) Nux vomica (kuchld) ; IXDIGENOUS DRUGS. 151 (19) Nitre; (20) Catechu (kath) ; (21) Fennel (son/); (22) Chiraita (Agathotes vel Ophelia chireta) ; (23) Aiis ; (24) Til (Sesamum ori entate) ; (25) Sod-ka-blj (the soa-seed) ; (26) Babiil-ka-gond (the gum of Acacia Arabica) ; (27) Andr-ke-jar-ka-chilkd (the bark of the root of Punica granatum) ; (28) Ajawdn ; (29) Country rum; (30) Mango- seed (Am-ka-guthli) ; (31) Anold ; (32) Bochrd ; (a) Hard; (34) Tamarind ; (35) Mustard ; (36) Gums of different kinds. The chief drugs in the pharmacopoeia of the baidyas or native practitioners are also given by the Civil Surgeon. Besides Nos. 1, 15, 18, 21, and 28 in the above list, they use liquorice-root, dkarkarhd, usuf-gol (Plantago Ispaghula), arsenic, mercury, lauttg, bdns-lochan (sup posed to be a tonic from the inner joints of a bamboo), cardamoms, dakard (a spurious aconite from which oil is prepared), cinnamon, heng (Assafcetida), and tulsi (Ocymum basilicum et O. sanctum). The following list of medicinal trees, plants, creepers, fruits, and shrubs, has been supplied by Mr. Beames, Deputy Collector, who has in some cases given their real or supposed properties : — (1) Ainthd (Securinega Leucopyrus), wood chiefly used as fuel, the fruit is eaten ; (2) Aold (Phyllanthus Emblica), the fruit is the Emblic Myrobalan, used as a medicine, also for dyeing and tanning, and sometimes pickled and eaten ; (3) Asgandh, roots used as tonic ; (4) Agmudah, given for indigestion ; (5) Adrakh (Zinziber officinale) ; (6) Ainthi, atonic; (7) Bandarlaur ; (8) Babhtrd ; (9) Bdbherdm ; (10) Bdrmi ; (11) Banjhauri, said to make women sterile; (12) Banphutkd, the leaves and fruit are used as a febrifuge ; (13) Boddd, given for bowel complaints; (14) Baridrd, a tonic taken with milk; (15) Bhat (Clerodendron infortunatum), a tonic and cooling medicine ; (16) Chamkurid ; (17) Chhatun, relieves pains after childbirth ; (18) Chfriyanband) ; (1 9) Chiraita (Agathotes vel Ophelia chireta), a tonic ; (20) Chita (Plumbago Zeylanica); (21) Chirchird (Litsoea Zeylanica), the bark used for wounds; (22) Chakbar, the bark used for ringworm ; (23) Chansiir, used for swellings ; (24) Dhanotar, a febrifuge ; (25) Dhurpd, a febrifuge ; (26) Dhattird (Datura alba), an oil made from the seeds is used for rheumatism ; also smoked for asthma ; (27) Dhanian (Coriandrum sativum) ; (28) Gurich, a tonic and febrifuge ; (29) Gordsd (Rhododendron arboreum), used for head ache; (30) Gokuld, used for gonorrhoea ; (31) Gummd, a febrifuge ; (32) Gaindd ; (33) Guthegan, a medicine for diseases of the chest ; (34) H&rh&r, the flowers are used as a cooling medicine ; (35) Harrai, used for indigestion; (36) Isritl, a cough medicine; (37) ISO STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAY A DISTRICT. the Bisudh, occurs in Paush or Magh (December or January). About iooo people collect to eat the new rice and other crops that have been lately cut. (7) Saunl-sail occurs on the 30th Sanwan (July). About 5000 Hindus collect for feasting and other amusements. The following are the chief fairs or religious gatherings in the interior : — (1) At Deokund, in pargdnd Arwal, there is a fair, with religious ceremonies in honour of Siva. About 5000 people collect on the 13th or 14th Phdlgun (February). (2) At Kishanpur, in par. gdnd Kutumbd, there is a fair called Rdmnaumi, held in honour of Ram's birthday, on the 24th Chait (March). About 4000 collect. (3) At Deo, in pargand Charkdnwdn, the gathering called C/i/iat, as in Gayd, collects about 1000 people twice in the year, on the 2 2(1 Kartik (October), and on the 2 2d Chait (March). (4) At Bharari in pargand Goh, the Ashndn collects about 1500 persons -on the 30th Kartik (October), as in Gayd. (5 and 6) At Jahdndbdd and Jamor in pargand Siris, this festival of Ashndn is also held. About 1000 people collect at each place. (7) At Raffganj, the Bisudh is held as in Gayd. About 2000 people collect. (8) At Saresd, in pargand Maher, the Sheordlri, a festival in honour of Siva, collects some 2000 people, on the 13th or 14th Phalgun, as at Deokund. (9) At Nad- rah, near Khizar-saraf, there are illuminations called the Chirdghah, in honour of a Musalmdn saint. There is a gathering of about 2000 persons on the 85th Phdlgun (February). (10) At Bithii also, a village two miles north of Gayd, the Chirdghah collects some 1000 persons, on or about the 9th Paush (December), (n) At Tendua, about four miles south of Gayd, there is a Musalmdn gathering to celebrate the marriage of Ghdzf Mid, attended by about 4000 persons, mostly of low caste, on the 26th Jeth (May). At these fairs the staple articles of commerce are rings, necklets, and anklets for women ; tikuii cakes, sweetmeats, &c. Cows and horses, &c, are also brought in large numbers for sale. Indigenous Drugs. — Nearly all the articles of materiamedica which are procurable in the markets of the North-West Provinces are also to be obtained from the paisdris at Gayd. Of indigenous medicines the Civil Surgeon gives the following list : — (1) Opium ; (2) Tobacco ; (3) Limes; (4) Oranges; (5) Mint ; (6) Aim (Azadirachta Indica); (7.1 Chillies (Idl mircli) ; (8) Linseed (tisi) ; (9) Br' ' 4%gle marmelos) ; (10) Dhatura (Datura stramon^j^^i 0 i; (12) Kala- donna; (13) Kutki ; { 14) Dhu s* (16)Anisee(i: (17) Kat-karej (Ca:salp;- ' 'kuchUi): / / 152 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF GAYA DISTRICT. Katild, a cooling medicine given to horses ; (38) Kalizira, a digestive medicine; (39) Kukrord, also used in indigestion; (40) Katalld, the juice is used for inflammation of the eyes, the seeds for the itch; (41) Katkarayd, the small leaves are used as a febrifuge; (42) Kuhul, an oil is extracted and used for rheumatism ; (43) Kothddumar, the fruit is used as a cooling medicine ; (44) Kamrdj, a tonic ; (45) Kakahia, used to remove deafness caused by fever ; (46) Kama/gatd, used as a cooling medicine ; (47) Lajauni, the bark and leaves are used for gonorrhoea ; (48) Murli, a digestive medicine; (49) Mathi, a tonic; (50) Mdlkoni ; (51) Maiddchaili, the bark is used as a tonic ; (52) Mdnphal (Randia dumetorum), ap plied to sores; (53) Afahadi, a cooling medicine, also a dye; (54) Nlm (Melia Indica), the sap is used as a stomachic and cooling drink ; the gum that exudes from the bark as a stimulant. From the fruit is extracted an oil used medicinally as an antiseptic and anthelmintic. The oil is also used in dyeing, and is burnt in lamps. The leaves are used medicinally ; (55) Nagrothd (Cyperus pertenuis), a febrifuge ; (56) Phulsd (Grewia Asiatica), a cooling medicine ; (57) Pardspipal, the seeds and bark are eaten after childbirth ; (58) Rakatrohan, the bark is also used after childbirth ; (59) Rdi (Abies Smithiana) ; (60) Shahtard, a febrifuge; (61) Shaharphonkd, a febrifuge ; (62) Soa; (63) Singarhar ; (64) Simkhd, applied to sores ; (65) Tdrmili, a tonic ; (66) Tukmalanga, the seeds are used as a cooling medicine ; (67) Tuna ; (68) Zamiri (Citrus acida), the acid lime of India, whose fruit is generally known as Umbu. The botanical names, where given, are taken from the "Forest Flora of Northern and Western India" by Dr. D. Brandis. Native Physicians. — With regard to the method of treatment followed by the baidyas, or native physicians, the Civil Surgeon says that they starve their fever patients often for many days, and use usufgol, fennel, and bel in cases of dysentery and diarrhoea. When their patients find that they derive no benefit from their hands, they resort to the charmers (gunis), to chase away the evil spirits whom they believe to be the cause of their illness. Charitable Dispensaries.— Besides the Gayd Pilgrim Hospital, which is now supported by a large annual subscription from the Gayawals, there are four Branch Dispensaries at Sherghdtf, Nawadd, Aurangabdd, and Jahdnabad. The two last have been but lately erected ; and up to the present year(i875)the subscriptions to theGayd Hospital were very trifling. The statistics for 187 1 for three first CHARITABLE DISPENSARIES. 153 mentioned Dispensaries, which alone were then open, show that the total number of persons who received medical relief in that year was 9438, or "33 per cent. of the total population of the District ; the total cost was ^646, 18s. 10d., exclusive of European medicines ; and the net cost to Government, including European medicines, was ^492, 4s. In future, however, the Gayd Hospital should be self- supporting. - STATISTICAL ACCOUNT DISTRICT OF SHAhAbAD STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE DISTRICT OF SHAHABAD.1 THE District of ShAhAbAd, which forms the south-western portion of the Patna Commissionership or Division, is situ ated between 240 31' and 250 43' north latitude, and between S30 23' and 840 55' east longitude. It contains a population of 1,723,974 souls, as ascertained by the Census of 1872, and a total area of 4385 square miles. The principal Civil Station, which is also the most populous town in the District, is Arrah, situated in 25° 34' north latitude and 84° 44' east longitude. 1 This Account of Shahabad District is chiefly derived from the following sources: — (1) The answers to my six series of questions, furnished by the Collector, Mr. D'Oyley (1870-71). (2) Dr. Martin's Edition of the "Statistics of Behar and Shahabad," collected by Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton (circ. 1807) under the orders of the Supreme Government of India. (3) The Annual Administration Reports of the Government of Bengal, of the Commissioner of the Patna Division, and of the Collector and Subdivisional Officers of Shahabad District. (4) Reports by Mr. Levinge, Superintending Engineer of the S6n Circle, and by Captain Hey- wood, R.E., Executive Engineer in charge of the Son Canal works, together with various papers supplied by the Irrigation Department. (5) Report on the Bengal Census of 1872 by Mr. H. Beverley, with subsequent District Compilation by Mr. Magrath. (6) Papers and Reports furnished by the Board of Revenue. (7) Special Statistics compiled in the Offices of the Inspectors-General of Jails and the Director-General of Post-Officas. (8) Annual Reports by the Inspectors-General of Police and Jails, and the Director of Public Instruction. (9) Annual Reports on the Charitable Dispensaries of Bengal. (10) Medical Returns furnished by the Civil Surgeon. (11) Annual Reports of the Meteorological Department. (12) Areas, Latitudes and Longitudes, furnished by the Surveyor-General. (13) The Statistical Reporter (Calcutta), November 1875 to December 1876. I have also to thank Mr. W. S. Wells, Collector of the District, Mr. J. Macnamara, Executive Engineer, and Messrs. Thomson, Mylne and Solano, and other European land owners, for assistance in the work. 158 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. Boundaries. — Shahabad is bounded on the north by the Districts of Ghazfpur in the North-Western Provinces, and Saran ; on the east by the Districts of Patna and Gaya' ; on the south by the District of Lohardaga ; and on the west by the Districts of Mirza- pur, Benares, and Ghdzfpur in the North-Western Provinces. On the north and east, the boundary is marked by the Ganges and Son rivers, which unite in the north-eastern corner of the District. Similarly, the Karamnassa is the boundary with the North-Western Provinces on the west, from its source to its junction with the Ganges near Chausa; and the S6n is the boundary with Lohardaga on the south. Jurisdictions. — The Magisterial, Revenue, and Civil jurisdictions are conterminous ; but changes in the course of the deep streams of the great rivers frequently cause the transfer of large portions of land from one District to another. Thus, through a change in the main channel of the Ganges, the didrd of Amfrpur in Ghazfpur was transferred from that District to Shahabad in 1867. From the map of Shahabad given in " Martin's Eastern India," it seems that a portion of the modern District of Ghazfpur, lying between the Ganges and the Ghagra, was formerly included within thdnd Belautf of this District. Concerning this thdnd Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton remarks, that " it is a very long, narrow jurisdiction, and a considerable portion is situated beyond the Ganges." I have been unable to ascertain when Shdhabad lost this tract. General Aspect of the District. — Shahabad naturally divides into two distinct regions, differing in climate, scenery, and productions. The northern portion, comprising about three-fourths of the whole area, presents the ordinary flat appearance common to the valley of the Ganges in the Province of Behar; but it has a barer aspect than the trans-Gangetic Districts of Saran and Tirhut. This tract is entirely under cultivation, and is fairly planted with mango and mahud trees, bamboos, palms, and occasionally bargat, imli, pipal, gular, and siris. A few teak and sissii trees may be seen, which, as a rule, mark the former presence of European enterprise. The southern portion of the District is occupied by the Kaimur Hills, with their isolated spurs. This tract is densely wooded ; and the existence of stone in large quantities not far off is shown by its frequent appearance in houses and other structures. The appearance of these hills is thus described by Mr. Mallet of the Geological Survey : — PHYSICAL ASPECTS: HILLS. 159 " The escarpments are everywhere lofty and bold, and the high lands west of Rohtas have an elevation varying from 1000 to 1400 feet. Their surface is uneven, being rocky, and covered with thick forest jungle ; amongst the glades feed herds of cattle, which form the chief wealth of the inhabitants. The drainage, which here as elsewhere is thrown north by the Vindhyan crest, falls by a series of waterfalls into the long winding gorges, which convey it to the alluvial plains of the Ganges. But towards the west, the general level sinks. " The most prominent features of the Vindhyan area are the numerous escarpments, which stamp it with a geographical char acter peculiarly its own. . . . The commonest form, where the lower portion of the scarp is shale, and the upper sandstone, ex hibits an undercliff of about 300 inclination, with a vertical pre cipice above, the relative dimensions depending chiefly on the ratio of shale to sandstone. When the latter is absent, the scarp pre serves a uniform slope from top to bottom ; while the boldest pre cipices are found where the scarp is entirely sandstone, the under cliff being then made up of a talus from above. . . . Along some lines of scarp, outlying hills are very frequent, whose elevation is equal to, or greater than, that of the main scarp, according as the stratification is perfectly horizontal or dips gently from the spur. On such eminences, either wholly or semi-detached, have been constructed the hill-forts which once played a prominent part in Indian history. Amongst many others, may be mentioned Rohtas- garh, Chunar, Kalinjar, and Gwalior. " The gorges, which receive the rivers after their descent from the plateau, should also be mentioned in a description of the physical aspect of the country. After a clear drop of two to six hundred feet, the water plashes into a deep pool, scooped out by its continual falling, on leaving which it runs through a channel obstructed through out several miles of its course with huge masses of rock, fallen from above. From each side of the stream rise the under-cliffs of the escarpment, covered' with jungle and tangled debris, and crowned by vertical precipices, which cut off all access to the plateau above, save by one or two narrow paths known only to the woodcutters and charcoal-burners." Hills. — The hills of Shahibid, which occupy a large portion of the south of the District, constitute part of the Kaimur branch of the great Vindhyan range. According to a special return from the 160 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. Superintendent of Revenue Surveys, dated 18th January 1877, the area of the Kaimur Hills situated in this District amounts to 798*94 square miles. Their boundaries, though well defined, are very irregular and often indented by the deep gorges scoured out by the hill streams. As described in the preceding section, their edges consist of a sheer precipice above, and a mass of debris below ; but on the summit is found not a flat tableland, but a series of saucer- shaped valleys, each a few miles in diameter with a deposit of rich vegetable mould in the centre, on which the finest crops are pro duced. There are several ghats or ascents to the top, some of which are practicable for beasts of burden. Two of the most frequented of these passes are Sarkf and Khariyarf, the first near the south western boundary, the second in the deep gorge north of Rohtas. Two passes on the north side, however, are more accessible. One is two miles south from Sasseram, known as Khula ghdt; the other is at Chhanpathar, at the extreme west of the District, where the Karamnassa forms a waterfall. The slopes to the south are covered with bamboo jungle, while those on the north are over grown with a mixed growth of stunted trees of various kinds. The general height of the plateau is 1500 feet above the level of the sea. Dr. Hooker, who visited Rohtasgarh in 1848, ascertained the precise elevation to be 1490 feet. As might be expected, the temperature on the top is considerably lower than that of the valley — about 5 degrees — and the extremes are much less marked than on the plains. In 1848 Dr. Hooker wrote, "The climate of the whole neighbour hood has of late changed materially, and the fall of rain has much diminished, consequent on felling the forests ; even within six years the hailstorms have been far less frequent and violent." The great want on the plateau is good water, which only exists at a few places. In the rains there is abundance ; but during the cold and hot weather, the inhabitants are reduced in most cases to drink a most unwholesome mixture from the nearest pool. River System. — The District of Shahabad occupies the angle formed by the junction of the Sdn with the Ganges, neither of which rivers anywhere cross the boundary. It is also watered by several minor streams, which all rise among the Kaimur Hills, and flow north towards the Ganges. The S6n has been identified with the Eranoboas of the ancients, the etymology of which name is hiraniya vahu, or the golden- armed. Colonel Dickens, in his " Sdn Project," gives the following RIVER SYSTEM; THE SON. 161 general description of this river : — " The Son rises, together with the Narbada and Mahanadf, on the elevated plateau of Central India, near Ammarkantak, and runs 325 miles through a high rocky tract, receiving tributaries only from the south. On the north, the drain age area of the river is limited by the steep slopes and precipices of the Kaimur range, along which the river flows, and the table land above, which drains away towards the Ganges. After quit ting the elevated rocky region of Central India, the S6n enters the valley of the Ganges, and by a straight course of 100 miles through the plains of South Behar, joins the sacred river between Arrah and Patna. The chief peculiarity in the latter portion of its course is its great width, which is more than two miles for the greater part of the last 100 miles; while opposite Tilothu it actually attains a breadth of three miles. This extensive bed consists entirely of sand, and dur ing eight months of the year contains a stream only a couple of hundred yards broad. The depth of water is on the average under 20 feet, and in its deepest parts hardly exceeds 30 feet. The strong dry westerly winds which prevail from January to April, and some times till June, heap up the sand on many parts of the western bank to 12 or 14 feet above the level of the country, with a sharp descent upon it at the angle of repose of the material, thus form ing a natural embankment for many miles." The S6n nowhere enters Shahabad District, but bounds it on the south and east, separating it from the Districts of Lohardagd, Gayi, and Patni. It first touches on Shdhabdd near Kosderi, a place about 440 feet above the sea ; and after gradually curving round the Kaimur Hills on the west, passes Akbarpur 40 feet lower, Dehri, Hariharganj, Nanaur, and Koelwar, where the East Indian Railway crosses it on a fine lattice girder bridge, and finally falls into the Ganges opposite Dariaganj in Saran. Opposite Hankarpur it is joined by the river Koel from Paldmau. At Dehrf it is crossed by a masonry dam, which supplies a head for the Son Canals. A full de scription of this great work will be found under the heading " Canals." The two great features of this river are the enormous breadth of its bed, compared with the small stream of water passing down, and the paroxysmal violence of its floods. Seen in the dry season, about April or May, the bed shows an enormous stretch of sand with an in significant stream of water, meandering from bank to bank, barely 100 yards wide, and fordable in most places. The rains, however, produce an extraordinary contrast. The S<5n drains a hill area of VOL. XII. K PHYSICAL ASPECTS HILL*. tf£ SOAr. 161 " Tne Escarpments at nemim Ion ai ioi sc a :p lands west ot Mtas bite u eknooi tsrsj ia i w S ipc : Son rises, together with the feet Tlotsm^ekniwabKiifrodT.aiaiiBKnsM d plateau of Central India, forest jongfe; amongst the g^ W bets « act uc in through a high rocky tract, the dud wealth of the mubhasb Tleoa^ijc en On the north, the drain- elsewhere is throws noni by fe Fiodhxi cs. aj j, , ,„ steep slopes and precipices o wteMj mo the tafwS, ^kc^. „ river flows, and the table- s the Ganges. After quit- Kvdsob. f0, ll India, the S6n enters the " The most proam, am rf « Viun, ». _ .. ourse of ioo miles through numerous earner* « ffl; t rJ a ^ " ' d river between Arrah and r portion of its course is its s for the greater part of the ictually attains a breadth of entirely of sand, and dur. i stream only a couple of er is on the average under xeeds 30 feet. The strong anuary to April, and some- Lccs of ""ft whig ft - JT*1 • • ^ee many parts of the western i w, ui greater tan, tjv »• .;. "* ei-tjjj " the country, with a sharp of the material, thus form- •istrict, but bounds it on the istricts of Lohardagd, Gayd, )dd near Kosderi, a place gradually curving round the , *"»»«* Hah, a arpur 40 feet lower, Dehri, s* :re the East Indian Railway ^•darA, ;e, and finally falls into die Opposite Hankarpur it is At Dehrf it is crossed by a r the Son Canals. A full de- under the heading " Canals." fe.*k .' the enormous breadth of its ave*oitl f water passing down, and the ;en in the dry season, about ous stretch of sand with an in- lg from bank to bank, barely : places. The rains, however, The S6n drains a hill area of K 1 58 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF . 5 "'-•XiT.IiSBu; Boundaries.— Shahabad is bounded o of Ghazipur in the North-Western Pro\ east by the Districts of Patna and Ga District of Lohardaga; and on the west pur, Benares, and Ghazipur in the Nortl the north and east, the boundary is mark< rivers, which unite in the north-eastern Similarly, the Karamnassa is the boundar ■KtfljcijiseiiaEt Provinces on the west, from its source Ganges near Chausa; and the Son is the I on the south. Jurisdictions.— The Magisterial, Reveni are conterminous ; but changes in the cours the great rivers frequently cause the trans land from one District to another. Thus, main channel of the Ganges, the diard of A transferred from that District to Shahabad in of Shahabad given in " Martin's Eastern I portion of the modern District of Ghazipur, ly and the Ghagii, was formerly included withii District Concerning this thana Dr. Bucha , . - *•* • " ^^ ■ ■•:CC"2.'P?::Jtl that " it is a very long, narrow jurisdiction, am is situated beyond the Ganges." I have be when Shihabad lost this tract General Aspect of the District.— Sha) into two distinct regions, differing in climate, sc The northern portion, comprising about thre area, presents the ordinary flat appearance cc the Ganges in the Province of Behar; but it 1 the trans-Gangetic Districts of Saran and Tirk under cultivation, and is fairly planted with n bamboos, palms, and occasionally kr&mB \ few teak and sissu trees may be seen, i Reformer presence of European enterprise. The southern portion of the District is oc Hil with their isolated spur, This tract, ^existence of stone in large quantities nc ' Larance in houses and others. "JJSS these * is *■ desc ■::■ ,he Geological Survey :- .•g.1 ..<£ PHYSICAL ASPECTS. SUS. #£ SON. 161 '• The escarpments are ensnhere Va "J »i « a V : Son rises, together with the lands west of Mas have an elevatsc* vara; sa tw » ti* d plateau of Central India, feet. Tneir sake is uneven, bog retry, ad trot nasu through a high rocky tract, forest jungle ; amongst the gaces feed here «' on ».c na On the north, the drain- the chief wealth of the inhabitants. The caattnc e a steep slopes and precipices elsewhere is thrown north by the Yiadkyaa crest, u x i ioet river flows, and the table of waterfalls into the long winding gorges, ix; caw ; a at 's the Ganges. After quit- alluvial plains of the Ganges. Bit tones a is a pea. al India, the Sdn enters the level sinks. ourse of 100 miles through " The most prominent features of the Tains ara a ae :d river between Arrah and numerous escarpments, which snap i ri a jeagapca. eg r portion of its course is its acter peculiarly its own. ... Ins csattcs ira. nx a s for the greater part of the lower portion of the sarp is shak, and Be rar sacsae. a ictually attains a breadth of hibits an oncerciiff of about 30' itcaaaor. 13 2 versa at- entirely of sand, and dur. cipice above, the relative dimessioss ceptai; caly cs a 33 l stream only a couple of of shaie to sandstone. When the aar is aaec a scr. »• er is on the average under serves a uniform slope from top to been ; iii a &a *{. xeeds 30 feet. The strong cipices are found where the scarp is eatT o^ ^ ^ anuary to April, and some- chrl bong then nude up of a lain fraj ^ _ _ _ ^ many parts of the western 'lines of scarp, outlying hills are very hear, whox «tax ] " the country, with a sharp equal to, or greater than, that of the m scarp, acr - 8 -, of the material, thus form- stratification is perfealy horiiottal or dips pi, sjl "* s." On such eminences, either riciy or m^- • )istrict, but bounds it on the coostiuad the E!-ta which caepbyed,^^ istricts of Lohardaga, Gaya, )ad near Kosdera, a place gaih, Cnraiar, kaltnjar. and Gniiot gradually curving round the "The gorges, which ««fci«„fafc. arpur 40 feet lower, Dehri, platean, snonki also be mntiaaed kt a docasi-. rf :re the East Indian Railway aspect of the country. AfttracbcraDoftT ;e, and finally falls into the Opposite Hankarpur it is taffilwnnW; l:.i-. /.lW,X«?« At Dehrf it is crossed by a -tsever^milesofitsconn,^^^ r the Sdn Canals. A full de- ihovt From each side of u» under the heading " Canals." i the enormous breadth of its f water passing down, and the aen in the dry season, about ^d cnarcoal-bmers." *■' <° '« ic«fcj2 ous stretch of sand with an in- tg from bank to bank, barely ,hcSMoftfce^ctM2^^^rf t places. The rains, however, The Sdn drains a hill area of K i62 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. 23,000 square miles ; and after a few hours' rain on the Central Indian plateau it bursts in full flood, and rushes down so violently as to spill even over its enormous bed, and cause disastrous inundations. The anicut at Dehrf, raised 10 feet above the normal level of the river bed, is then entirely submerged ; and but for the swirl and eddy, the existence of this work would never be suspected. The maximum discharge of the river has been calculated at 1 J million cubic feet per second, as compared with a minimum discharge of only 620 cubic feet. These heavy floods are of short duration, hardly ever lasting more than four days, when the river rapidly sinks to its normal level. Much damage has been done of late years from the flood waters overflowing the country between Nanaur and Arrah. Formerly, this tract of country was rarely inundated, but floods have recently become alarmingly common. Thus, in 1864, 1867, 1869, and again in 1870, Arrah, which is situated eight miles from the Son, has been severely inundated. It is supposed that the increasing number and seve rity of these floods is due to the river having washed away certain protective reaches, in places where the banks are low. In 1864, the flood waters escaped towards Arrah through a low valley situated inland, a quarter of a mile south of the village of Bihiarah, and inun dated a tract of 250 square miles. The low-lying lands south of the railway are generally laid under water every year, especially when the Ganges is also in flood. The S6n receives no tributaries of any importance from the point where it enters the District to Dehrf, where it is crossed by the Grand Trunk Road on a stone causeway ; and between Dehrf and its junc tion with the Ganges, the drainage sets away from it, so that no stream can join it north of that place. Old beds are numerous, but they are principally found on the opposite bank, in the Districts of Gayd and Patna. One such bed, however, runs in this District from Telkap, the proposed canal head of the 1861 scheme. It is very obscurely marked, but apparently rejoins the present channel at the depression near Ameawar, a short distance south of Nasriganj. The bed of the S6n consists almost entirely of sand; but in a few parts may be found clay, which is cultivated. Kankar is ob tained in several places ; and the trial wells at the S6n bridge dis closed a thick stratum of that substance below the sand. A species of small pebbles or agates is found below the junction of the Koel ; many of these are ornamental, and take a good polish, but the majority RIVERS: THE GANGES. 163 consist of opaque and diaphanous silicious rocks. The crystals are very imperfect, and generally adhere together in a confused mass. Some are of a reddish tinge, others of a dark green. During the dry season there are many fords, but the ferryboats are generally required to ply for eight months in the year. At several places above Dehrf, the rocks and rapids effectually stop river traffic. Navigation on the S6n is intermittent, and of little commer cial importance. In the dry season, the small depth of water pre vents boats of more than 20 maumis proceeding up stream, while the violent floods in the rains equally deter large boats. Boats of 500 or 600 maunds, however, sometimes sail up. The principal traffic is in bamboos and timber. The former are floated down on rafts con sisting of ro,ooo or so lashed together — a tedious process in the dry weather, as they are constantly grounding, and the many windings of the stream render their progress extremely slow. It is estimated that about four millions of bamboos are annually floated down the S6n. Mr. Eyre gives the following figures for this trade : — From ghdts between Jadundthpur and Madkapia are launched 600,000 ; from Nawddih, 200,000; Turd, 600,000; Naudihd, 100,000; Akbarpur, 600,000; Samotd, 1,200,000; Dheldbdgh, 400,000; Tumbd, 200,000; total, 3,900,000. A little south of Koelwdr, the East Indian Railway crosses the S6n on a lattice girder bridge. This great work was commenced "for a single line of rails in 1855, and after many interruptions during the Mutiny, was completed in 1S62. The second line was begun in March 1868, and finished in 1870. The total length of the bridge from back to back of the abutments is 4199 feet, divided among 28 spans of 150 feet each. Each set of girders is 14^ feet deep, and raised 36 feet above low-water level. The piers are 1 2 feet thick, and are sunk on wells, the minimum depth of which is 30 feet below low water. Underneath each line of rail is a subway for foot-passengers and beasts of burden. The Banas nadi is at first a spill channel from the Son, which it leaves near Belta, on the road from Koelwar to Dehrf ; but as it pro ceeds northward, it becomes the drainage channel of the country be tween the Arrah Canal and the Bihiyd distributary. After passing under the railway between Arrah and Bihiyd, it bends to the east, leaving Arrah a little to the north, and finally falls into the Gangi nadi. Except in the rains, it carries very little water. The Ganges forms the northern boundary of Shdhdbdd, separat 164 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. ing it from the Districts of Ghazfpur and Sdran. It first touches this District near Chausd ihdud, where it is joined by the Karamnassa, and then flows in a north-easterly direction, past Baxar, as far as Balfa in Ghdzfpur, where it bends to the south-east. At Sapahf, it again turns to the north-east, until nearly opposite Haldf, where it assumes an easterly course, which it keeps until it leaves the District at the confluence of the Son. Its tributaries from the south are the Karamnassa, Thora, Jhurf, Gangi, and S6n, of which the first and last alone deserve separate mention. An important change recently took place in its course, by which a large didrd, called Amfrpur, was transferred from Ghdzfpur to this District. Large tracts are annually formed by alluvion ; these sometimes become permanent, but are as often swept away the following year. From the language used by the Chinese pilgrim, Hiouen-Thsang, it is clear that the river formerly flowed much farther to the south than at present. The town of Masar is stated by him to have been close to the Ganges; it is now nine miles away, but the high bank of the old bed is close at hand, and can easily be traced past Bihiyd and Arrah. During the rains, the river overflows these lowlands, on which, therefore, no autumn crop can grow ; but when the waters have receded, wheat, &c., is sown, and reaped in March or April. From Bhojpur to the mouth of the Ghagrd, near Revelganj, the changes in the river-bed are very ex tensive, as may be inferred from the large tracts of waste land lying to the north. The banks in the Baxar Subdivision are generally abrupt, as the current strikes against them ; but lower down they are sloping, where the stream is, in turn, deflected against the opposite bank. In many places they are composed of a schistose clay, which has an appear ance similar to that of sandstone, but it crumbles away very readily. The breadth of the stream in the dry season is generally about three- quarters of a mile, but in the rains it is many times wider. A large through trade is carried on, both up and down stream, but the only places of any importance on the south bank are Baxar and Chausd. The Karamnassa, the cursed stream of Hindu mythology, rises on the eastern ridge of the plateau in the Kaimur Hills, about three miles above the channel of the Son, and flows away from that river in a north-western direction. Near Darihara, it becomes the bound ary line with Mirzapur District, and enters that District near Kulhiia. For about 15 miles it flows in Mirzapur, and then re-enters Sha RIVERS: THE DHOBA OR A'AO. 165 hdbad, again forming the boundary with the District of Benares, until it falls into the Ganges near Chans! thdnd. By the end of February it generally runs dry, but during the rains boats of 50 maunds burthen can sail up to the confluence of the Dar- gduti. In the hills, its bed is rocky and its banks abrupt ; but as it debouches into the plains it sinks deeply into a rich clay, very retentive of moisture. The stream is here about 150 yards wide. Near Chausa, the East Indian Railway crosses it on a stone bridge. This river is held by Hindus in the utmost abhorrence, and no person of high caste will either drink or touch its waters. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton states that Ahalya Bai, the widow of Hoikar, tried to build a bridge over it, but failed. Tne reason of its im purity is described as follows : — A Brahman had. been murdered by Raja Trisangkii of the Solar Line, who married his stepmother. A saint, however, purified his sin by collecting water from all the streams in the world, and washing him in their waters, which were collected in the spring from which the Karamnassa now issues. This spot is near the village Sarodag, where the river is beautifully clear, with a pebbly bed abounding in deep pools, and swarming with fish of various kinds. At Chhanpathar it forms a waterfa.l 100 feet high, which forms a magnificent sight after heavy rain. The Dhoba or Kag rises on the piateau six miles south-west of Tilothu, and after flowing through a glen in a northerly direc tion, forms a fine waterfall, and enters the plains at the Tarra- chandi pass, two miles south-east of Sasseram. At this place it bifurcates : one branch, the Kudra, turns to the west, and ultimately joins the Karamnassa; while the other, which preserves the name K4o, flows to the north, and finally falls into the Ganges near Gaighat. There is very little water in its bed during the cold and hot seasons, but in the rains it is subject to floods of the most violent char acter. At Bihiya" it is crossed by the Main Western Canal, being con veyed underneath by means of a syphon of 25 arches, which has been the cause of much anxiety during floods. In order to preserve a uniform flow, a regulator or dam has been thrown across, some dis tance above the syphon, which has had the effect of throwing the main stream bade into the Kudra, and so forcing it down the Tarrachdndf pass. In the hilly portion of its course, the bed is rocky and full of enormous boulders, washed down during the heavy floods. The banks are high and stable, but in the plains become low ; kankar 166 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. is found in some places. The Kao is now navigable throughout its entire course in the plains. The Kudra, as already explained, now carries off the main stream of the Kao at the Tarrdchdndl pass near the town of Sdsserdm, past which it flows in a north-easterly direction, crossing the Grand Trunk Road at Khurmdbad, and falling into the Dargdutf at Tendwd, after a course of 50 miles. In the dry season it contains very little water; but during the rains, a large stream passes down. The bed is rocky and full of enormous boulders, until the river has fairly debouched into the plains, after which it varies according to the character of the soil through which it passes. The DarGAutf rises in a spring under an old mango-tree in the village of Bhakmd, on the southern ridge of the Kaimur plateau, a few miles north of the source of the Karamnassa. For about nine miles it pursues a northerly course, being joined by some un important hill streams, after which it rushes over a precipice 300 feet high into the deep glen of Kadhar Kho, where more hill torrents help to swell its volume. After passing by the stalactite caves of Gupta and the hill fortress of Shergarh, it enters the plains at Kar- umchat, and makes for Jahdndbad, eight miles north, on the Grand Trunk Road. Here it turns to the north-west, running parallel to the road for 22 miles, until it crosses it at Sdwant, where it bends towards the north-east and falls into the Karamndssa, after receiving the Kudra from the east. The Dargdutf drains an area on the plateau of about 200 square miles. In the upper part of its course it has a rocky channel, with a clear and rapid stream not more than 30 feet wide ; but, after it enters the plains, it becomes wider, and at Jahdndbdd attains a breadth varying from 100 to 120 feet. The river-bed in the plains is sandy, mixed here and there with kankar, which is largely quarried and used for repairing the Grand Trunk Road. It contains water all the year round; and during the rains 50-matmd boats can sail up the stream 50 or 60 miles from its mouth. The principal tributaries of the Dargdutl are the Sura, Kora, Gonhud, and Kudra. The SurA rises near the village of Dohar, on the plateau, and falls into the LdI Kdkdnd or Red Pool, in the Mokerf pass. As it proceeds it receives a number of affluents, the principal of which are the Kandan Kho and Jawar Kho. It debouches on the plains six miles south of the town of Bhabhud, which it leaves about a mile I FISHERIES. 167 on the east, finally falling into the Dargautf at Pfparfa after a course of about 25 miles. Its bed is pebbly in the hills, and sandy in the plains ; kankar is largely quarried. In the rains, boats of 100 maunds burthen can ply up to the foot of the hills, where extensive lime quarries are worked. The KorA or KoherA rises in Bamhan Duard on the plateau, about 8 miles south of Chdinpur, being fed from a spring under a jhdman tree. It flows in a northerly direction for about 18 miles, until it joins the Siira at a village called Nfmf. It is not navigable for boats of any size. The GonhuA is also a small hill-stream, not navigable for boats of any size in the plains. Its source is a spring near the village of Ishmailpur, about 6 miles west of Chainpur. After flowing in a north-eastern direction, it falls into the Dargautf a little south of the suspension bridge on the Grand Trunk Road, near the police station of Dargautf. Fisheries. — The fish found in the S6n are much superior to those of the Ganges, and are largely consumed by all who can afford to buy them. The Government fisheries in the S6n were farmed out in 187 1 at an annual rent of .£85. The prevailing custom on this river is for the proprietors of the fisheries to send for the fishermen and share the produce with them, as the pools are not per manent ; but mpargand Baraon, where the pools are deep, owing to the proximity of the Ganges, the zaminddrs lease the fisheries. The small channels between the S6n and Ganges form the best fisheries in the District. The main stream of the Ganges is divided into blocks of various lengths, one of which is allotted to each District on the banks. The Shdhabdd block extends from Chausd thdna to the mouth of the Ghagrd; the Saran block from this last point to the mouth of the S6n. The Government fisheries on the Ganges were leased for ^55 in the year 1870-71. No close season is observed, and shoals of fish are captured on their way up the little watercourses to spawn. No fish is dried or salted for exportation. Mr. Eyre, in his Administration Report for 1871-72, gives the following list of thirty fishes, which he says is complete for the Sasseram Subdivision. With scales — Rohu, naini, kagar, mat, bhdkur, gdjol, sdoli, gardi, pothyd, chalud, margdi, pathuds, bdaundd, basai, bogrd, pothdr, chhbtd. Without scales — Singhdnd, hilsd, arwdri, rilha, bachwd, kdndl, josd, taigrd, gochld, bdim, gainchi, baumds, and eels. 168 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. Long-Stemmed Rice. — Boro rice is grown on the banks and beds of shallow and receding rivers, in swamps, and also upon land which is under water for the greater part of the year. This crop is sown in nurseries in October, and transplanted in February. Marsh Products. — In Shdhdbad there are few marshes ; the only one deserving mention is the BhojpiSr jhil, situated a little to the north of Dumraon, in which is found a reed used for making mats. The Lines of Drainage are determined by the courses of the various rivers. The country slopes gradually away from ths south-east corner towards the west and north, with an average fall northwards of 3 feet per mile, intersected by ridges along the top of which the S6n Canals have been aligned. This fail would be so rapid as to render the cultivation of the rainy-season crops almost im possible, if the rayats did not impound the water, by digging shallow trenches across the valleys and throwing the earth upon the lower sides, thus producing a series of long shallow tanks. Where the ridges fall away rapidly, not only forwards but laterally, as occurs near the banks of the S6n and Kdo, and also in the centre of the Jagdispur estate, this process of embanking is impossible. Canals. — The Son Project. — The project of irrigating Shdhabdd District by a comprehensive scheme of canals, which should also be navigable, dates from 1855, when Colonel Dickens proposed the construction of canals from Giunar westwards to Patnd — a project subsequently extended to Mirzapur in the one direction, and to Monghyr in the other. But the final orders, issued by the Govern ment of India in 187 1, decided that the original scheme was to be adhered to ; and at present, it is an open question whether the Main Western Canal will be extended westwards even as far as Chundr. The Anicut or Weir. — Active operations were commenced in 1869, by the construction of an anicut at Dehrf-on-S6n, about half-a- mile south of the causeway which carries the Grand Trunk Road from Bariin to Dehrf. This weir is 12,500 feet long, by 120 broad, and 8 feet above the normal level of the river-bed. The method adopted in its construction was as follows : — The foundations were formed by large hollow blocks 16 feet long, 15 broad, and 10 deep, with 15-inch walls, leaving a space from which sand was excavated by means of Fouracres' excavators. The blocks were thus gradually sunk, an average period of three days being necessary to complete the process for each. On the wells thus formed, two massive walls of THE SOS CASALS. 169 masonry were built The upper or main wall is 8 feet high, the rear wall only 5J. The space between the walls, as well as the rear apron, was filled with rubble stones, the upper surface of which is packed, with an inclination of 1 in 1 2, with massive blocks of stone. On the up-stream side of the higher wall the inclination is 1 in 3, the stone employed being smaller than below. The anient will practically be finished at a total cost of ^£149,141. To provide for superfluous river water not required for irrigation, the weir is pierced by three sets of sluices, each containing twenty- two vents of 2oi feet span, which can be opened and shut as occa sion requires. These sets of sluices are placed at each end and in the centre of the weir, so as to obviate by their scouring action during floods (when they are always left open) the danger of the river silting up at either bank, where the canals branch off. A serious difficulty arose, however, in providing means for opening and shutting these sluice-gates, in face of the enormous pressure brought to bear on them. This pressure, when the water is at rest, amounts to about thirty tons on each gate; but when the water is in motion, this figure must be multiplied by the velocity in feet per second of the stream, a process which brings the total pressure on each gate up to 600 tons. Mr. Fouracres, Executive Engineer in charge of the Dehrf workshops, devised a system of shutters, by which the opening and shutting are effected almost instantaneously. Each vent or opening is provided with two gates or shutters, the rear one of which has its centre of pressure so adjusted that, when the water rises above 8 feet, it tumbles over and lies flat on a bed cut out in the stone. At this time the front gate also lies flat on the floor, to which it is secured by pins. The water thus passes through without any interruption. When it is desired to dam up the water, the pin, which holds the front gate down is slipped out and the gate starts upwards. When ever the water gets under, the gate rises immediately, and would come up so quickly, that it would be broken in atoms ; to provide against this contingency, each gate is supported by iron tubular backstays, into which piston-rods are fitted, and which are pierced with two or three small holes, through which the water enters, when the shutter is flat on the floor, and the piston at the far end. As the gate rises, the piston enters the cylinder, and slowly forces the water out from the small holes already alluded to, so that the enormous pressure on the gate is almost completely neutralised, and the gate quietly slips into a perpendicular, position. The water which was behind now 170 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAH AB AD DISTRICT. runs off, and the rear gate is lifted into its first position, a valve in the front gate opened, the water rushes in till it fills the space between, and the front gate is once more pushed down and secured as before. The Canals. — The Main Western Canal, starting from the head- works at Dehrf, has to carry, up to the fifth mile where the Arrah Canal branches off, 4511 cubic feet of water per second, to irrigate 1,200,000 acres (only 600,000 of which will require simultaneous irrigation). The dimensions at starting are : — Breadth at base, 180 feet ; depth of water in full supply, 9 feet ; fall per mile, 6 inches. The Arrah Canal takes off 1616 cubic feet of water per second, which leaves 2895 cubic feet up to the twelfth mile, where the Baxar and Chaus! Canals leave, abstracting a further 1 260 cubic feet per second. The dimensions are here reduced to 124 feet at the base, the other particulars remaining as before. In aligning the Main Western Canal, the great object was to escape the heavy cutting 30 feet deep at Dehrf, and carry the water along the ridges of the country. It curves round in a northerly direction to the head-works of the Arrah Canal, then bends to the west, crossing the Kao over a syphon aque duct at Bihiyd, and finally stops on the Grand Trunk Road, two miles west of Sasserdm. The extension of this canal to ChunaV is still under consideration. Its cost for the first 21| miles has aver aged ^5600 per mile ; while the three miles of cutting at the head- works cost as much as ^i 2,500 per mile. The Arrah Canal, which branches off at the fifth mile of the Main Western Canal, curves back towards the S6n, a course it follows to the thirtieth mile, where it strikes nearly due north, and running on a natural ridge, passes Arrah, and finally falls into the Gangf nadi, by which it will communicate with the Ganges. The canal is sixty miles long, from Dehrf to where it enters the nadi, but ten miles more have to be traversed before its waters reach the Ganges. It is designed both for irrigation and navigation. To overcome the fall of 180 feet between Dehrf and the Ganges, thirteen locks have been constructed, two of which are double; these overcome 16oi feet, leaving 191 feet for the slope in the bed. For the first fifteen miles from Dehrf, the canal is 86 feet wide at the base ; at the twenty-sixth mile (owing to a diminished supply of water being required), its breadth is reduced to 57 feet; and at the thirty-second, mile, still further to 47 feet, the minimum breadth considered to be compatible with navigation. This canal, THE SO.V CANALS. 171 with its two branches, the Bihiya and Dumraon Canals, commands an area of 441,500 acres, half of which is assumed as being under rabi or cold-weather crops, and half under kharif or rainy-season crops. The requirements of water are taken at one cubic foot per second for each 133 acres. The duty of the water for irrigating purposes is arrived at in this way. The irrigable square mile is con sidered to contain 250 acres, 140 being deducted for roads, tanks, village sites, &c., and the remaining 250 as not requiring simul taneous irrigation. As 1 acre of rice requires 27 cubic feet of water per hour, or *0075 cubic feet per second, a square mile of 250 acres requires i-88 cubic feet per second. The canal itself has four principal distributaries, exclusive of the Bihiya. and Dum- rdon Branch Canals. The Bihiyri Canal, 3oi miles long, branches off at the twenty-sixth mile, and has seven distributaries. The Dumraon Canal, 40| miles long, which leaves the Main Canal at the seventeenth mile, has twelve. These, again, have small cuts leading in all directions, to convey the water over the fields. The Baxar and Chausd Canals leave the Main Western Canal at the twelfth mile, and abstract 1260 cubic feet per second. The Baxdr Canal is also designed for navigation ; the minimum width is 47 feet at the base, and 75 feet on the water-line, with a depth of 7 feet, and side slopes of 2 to 1. Its direction is generally north to the twenty- ninth mile of the Thord nadi, and thence to the Ganges at Baxdr. Together with its branches, it commands the country between the Kao and the Dunauti on the west, which is stated to be much in want of irrigation. Of the 1 260 cubic feet of water required per second, 7 1 5 are carried by the Baxar Canal, and 545 by the Chausd Canal. The area commanded by these two canals is 309,500 acres, half of which is assumed to. be under rabi crops, and half under kharif. The total fall from the bed of the canal at the off-take to the lower sill of the terminal lock is 15873 feet, of which 15373 feet are overcome by twelve locks, two of which are double. The total length is forty- five miles, the Chausd branch being an additional forty miles. As a rule, the canals run in such a way that they do not cross the natural drainage channels of the country ; but where this is not so, syphons have been provided, which allow the water to pass under the canal unhindered. The most extensive work of this description is the Kao syphon, which conveys the waters of that stream under the Main Western Canal. The locks are all constructed on the same plan, being 1 50 feet long and 20 broad inside the chamber at the level of the 172 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. flooring, with a lift of from 10 to 14 feet. A waste weir is necessariiy added to each, to maintain a minimum depth of 5 feet on the sill of the preceding lock. Cast-iron grooved brackets are fitted to regulate the supply, or, if necessary, to impound the water for navi gation. Over each weir and tail-bay a light girder bridge has been made ; and in addition to these, there are bridges every three or four miles, besides ferries at the more important villages. As regards the cost, it is impossible at present to give any trust worthy estimate of what it may amount to, as many works are yet incomplete. The revised estimates of January 1875 are as follow: — Main Western Canal, ^150,075 ; Arrah Canal, ^219,086; Head-works, ^251,288 ; Baxar Canal, ,£185,621 ; total, ^807,070. As far as construction has gone, the cost of the Arrah Canal, ex clusive of tools, plant, and maintenance, is ^3285, 14s. per mile; while the estimates of the Baxar Canal, exclusive of the same items, are ^3669, 1 2s. per mile. Among the above items, part of the cost of the head-works should be debited to the Districts of Gayd and Patna, where canals have also been constructed. There can be little doubt that these canals have conferred upon Shahdbdd an entire immunity from future famines. As far as the S6n readings have gone, they show that a minimum supply of 3000 cubic feet per second can be depended upon up to the 15th of January; and this would suffice to irrigate 480,000 acres. But many of the cold-weather crops will have been completely irrigated before this date, so that the amount of water required decreases equally with the volume of the stream. Thus, peas, which occupy a very large area, generally receive their last watering about Christmas, when the supply is 3500 cubic feet per second. Generally speaking, three waterings are required for the cold-weather crops — one early in November, one in December, and one in the middle of January. After February the supply of water decreases very rapidly ; and though, in exceptional years of high floods, irrigation might be carried on up to March and April for sugar-cane and indigo, these crops can only be occasionally watered or drenched in an ordinary year. Jungle Products.— The following list of jungle products has been condensed from Mr. Eyre's Report on the Banskati mahdl, and other papers. These products are almost entirely confined to the Kaimur plateau in the south of the District. With the exception of the Banskati mahdi, they afford no revenue to Government, but are the property FORESTS. 173 of the zamindars of the hills. The principal sources of revenue are the profits derived from the sale of wood, and the grazing tax. Herds of cattle are annually driven up the hills in charge of Ahfrs, to graze on the upland pasturage. Each animal pays a tax of 4 annas (6d.) for the season. The revenue derived from the sale of wood is probably much larger. There is no system of forest conservancy, and the forests are consequently denuded of their best timber, more especially on the slopes of the hills. The clearing of bam boos and trees loosens the soil, deprives it of shade, and allows it to be washed away by the violent hill-rains. In February and March, fires are very common, which do much damage to young trees, and to those which are not perfectly sound, but have a fissure or a dry branch near the ground. In addition to the wood thus burnt and taken away for sale, Mr. Eyre calculates that about 250,000 maunds, or 9151 tons, are annually burnt for the making of lime; but this estimate is said to be excessive. An officer of the Forest Depart ment visited the plateau in January 1872, and submitted a report on the forests. The result was disappointing; not one tree was met with from which a 20-foot beam could be cut, and it would be difficult to obtain one of 15 feet. The height and girth of most trees were small, while a straight trunk was almost unknown. The only remains of what could properly be termed a forest are on the banks of the Karamnassa, where a number of contorted old stumps of considerable girth were found, but they gave little or no promise of future development. It is known, however, that there are fairly good forests of sal, which only require easy communications to make them of considerable value. The following is a list of the principal woods, &c., found in the hills : — (1.) Khayer (Acacia catechu) is a small but erect tree, which bears a rounded head of prickly branches. The wood is yellow, with a brick- red heart. It is from this tree that kath (the cutch of commerce or Terra japonica) is prepared. After it has been extracted from the unripe pods and the dried chips of the inner wood, it is boiled in earthen pots and strained off into wooden troughs. It is used in dyeing cloth, and in increasing the adhesiveness of plaster; in con junction with certain oils, it is applied to beams, &c., to preserve them from the ravages of white ants. It contains a good deal of tannin, and is therefore much used as an astringent. The wood is less hard and durable than that of other species of Acacia. The kath is collected by Kharddhfs, who live in the forests lying along the 174 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. hills. From 30 to 40 maunds are annually made, the Kharddhi re ceiving R. 1 lor each tonga or bullock-load of 4 maunds, which the dealer sells in the plains at the rate of Rs. 10. per maund, or 27s. 4d. a hundredweight. (2.) Palds (Butea frondosa) is chiefly valued because the lac insect deposits its eggs on the leaves. When the wood is cut, a red juice exudes, which is used in dyeing. The natives of the North-Western Provinces use it in tanning leather. A strong rope is also made from the inner bark. The flowers are yellow, the bright orange-red petals forming a strong con trast with the black calyx. (3.) Amaltds (Cathartocarpus fistula) is a tree of medium size, with long, pendulous racemes. A mucilaginous pulp which surrounds the seeds is considered a valuable laxative ; it is compounded with sugar and gum, which are powdered and mixed with tobacco. The wood is close grained, and when of sufficient size, is used for the spars of boats and ploughs. The bark is useful in tanning. (4.) Dhau (Conocarpus latifolius) is a tree producing good timber ; when of a chocolate colour, it is said to be very durable in the centre. Natives consider it superior to every wood, except teak, for house and shipbuilding purposes. The young leaves are used in tanning. (5.) Kusa grass (Poa cyno- surioides) produces a fragrant oil, known as the grass-oil of Nimaur. It has an aromatic taste, sufficiently powerful to scent the milk of the cows which eat it. (6.) Mahwal (Bauhinia vahlii) is a creeper which climbs to a great height. The large leaves, which are a foot in diameter, are sold for plates and packages ; the ripe seeds are eaten raw ; while from the bark, which is first boiled and then beaten, rope is made equal to the best san hemp. (7.) Hard (Terminalia chebula). The outer coat of the nut, when mixed with sulphate of iron, makes a good ink. Galls are found on the leaves. The fruit is very astringent, and is largely used in arts and manu factures. The unripe dried fruit is the Indian or black myrobolan of commerce. The nuts, which are gathered in January or February, are exported to the extent of 8000 maunds, valued at ^1200, principally to Patnd and Benares. They are largely used in curing leather, and as a medicine. (8.) Mahud (Bassia latifolia). The wood is hard and durable, and is especially suited for the naves of wheels. The well-known mahud spirit is distilled from the sweet flowers, which are also dried and largely used for food. (9.) Simul (Bombax malabari- cum) is the red cotton-tree. The wood is soft and spongy, the cotton of the pods is used for stuffing various articles. (10. 1 THE JUNGLE PRODUCTS. 17; (Boswellia thurifera) yields a good timber, and also the incense usually burnt in churches. (11.) Pir chernji (Buchania latifolia) is a tree generally about 30 feet high, producing a wood useful for most purposes. The kernels of the nuts are often used in confectionery as a substitute for almonds, or roasted and eaten with milk. The bark is used for tanning, while an oil of a pale straw colour is- extracted from the seed. (12.) Kusum (Schleichera trijuga), a tree generally 20 feet high, is not common. The bark is astringent, the wood hard and durable, and much used in old sugar-mills. (13.) Sakhwa (Shorea robusta), the well-known sdl tree, is common on the plateau, but rare on the slopes. The wood is too well known to require description. Mr. M'Namara, who was deputed to examine the sdl forests in the hills, noticed that the trees on the Karam- nassa were especially promising, but have no value until they can be carted away. It is a curious circumstance that they are only found on one bank of the river. (14.) Asan (Terminalia tomentosa) is a tree on whose leaves the tasar silkworms feed. The wood is valuable, and well suited for shafts of carriages ; the fibre is long ; while the astringent bark is used for dyeing wood black. (15.) Bans or bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea) is perhaps the most important product of the jungle tracts. About 4,000,000 are annually floated down the S6n in rafts, while 500,000 more are exported by road. (16.) Sdbri is a long and stout grass, which is made into a stout twine, useful for roofing purposes. (17.) Tend (Diospiros melan- oxylon) yields a superior kind of ebony. The white outside wood decays and leaves the ebony intact. It is commonly met with on the plateau and the slopes. (18.) Aungra (Emblica officinalis). The bark is astringent, and used for tanning purposes ; the wood is hard and durable; the fruit is pickled and preserved. (19.) Bar (Ficus Indica) produces a soft wood, used only for the poles of pdlkls or palanqueens. (20.) Nagrdbu (Hemidesmus In dica). The root is much used by natives, and possesses peculiar diuretic properties. (21.) Kadam (Nauclea cadamba) is a large ornamental tree, producing a yellow wood used for furniture. It is light and durable, and is also made into combs. (22.) Arjun (Pentaptera arjuna) is a tree about 50 feet high, which yields an excellent timber ; rope is made from the fibre of the inner bark. (23.) Sale gottd is a resin yielded by the sdl tree. It is also known as sale lapsa, and is partially collected for export. At Chan- dalgarh, where it is called birozd, it is commonly sold as a medicine. 176 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAH A BAD DISTRICT. When first drawn from the incision in the tree, it is a viscid sub stance of a clear greenish colour, and of the consistence of turpen tine. If allowed to dry before being collected, it forms hard dia phanous masses or tears ; but it loses most of the odour which it had in its moist state, which is more agreeable than that of turpen tine from pines. (24.) Chiti is a variety of hemp, which, according to the Deputy Collector of Bhabhud, excels the ordinary san and jute. (25.) Bagai is a species of grass, from which ropes are largely made. It is also used for thatching. Stick lac is collected every year to the extent of about 20 maunds by Kharwdrs. It is not artificially cultivated, but is worked up into bracelets, and is also used as a dye. Beeswax is collected from the giddy heights north of the Bahid waterfall. The hill men climb down the precipices by ropes, which are often 200 feet long, and smoke the bees out. Minerals, with the exception of kankar, are only found in the south of the District, in the Sasserdm and Bhabhua Subdivisions. Kankar is found in most parts of the plains, especially in the beds of rivers and along the banks of the Son. Where the nodules are large, it is used for repairing roads ; but where small, it is generally burnt for lime. The Kaimur hills consist almost entirely of red sandstone, overlying non-fossiliferous limestone. The former is largely used in building, for which, on account of its durability, it is admirably adapted. As instances of this quality, it may be mentioned that the works erected of this stone by Sher Shdh and his family, now more than three centuries old, do not show the slightest traces of decay ; and there are inscriptions nine hundred years old equally unaffected. Sandstone is largely quarried at Dhodhand on the Sasseram-Tilothu Road, and at Karaundid on the Grand Trunk Road, by the Irrigation Department. A tramway has been laid down between Dehrf and the former place, to convey stone to the head-works of the Son Canals, where it is utilised in forming the anicut and also in various locks and other works along the canals. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton says it is harder than the best freestone. The grain is very small: and the large masses when broken have a strongly marked conchoidal frac ture. Slabs about three inches thick are quarried for hand-mills ; but they are not easily found, owing to the variations in the thickness of the strata. In a small hill called Pateswar, and in a detached ridge to the south of it, the strata are of much more uniform SANDSTONE : LIMESTONE, ETC. 177 thickness, and break off square beneath the hammer, so that walls built from them have a neat and finished appearance. The colour of the stone varies from red to white, but is generally of a brownish tint. When Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton visited these hills in the begin ning of the present century, the stone was principally used for the mortars of sugar-mills, for millstones, for potters' wheels, and for curry-stones ; but the construction of the Son Canals has created a great demand for building blocks, especially those of large size. At Totald Kund there is a high waterfall, where the different strata are clearly defined. Here the sandstone gradually passes into a hornstone of a dark grey colour, full of black granular mica, such as abounds in the former. In the channel of Gupteswarf, which is situated in a deep recess behind Shergarh, there are many silicious stones, among which Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton found a piece of colourless rock crystal. West from Tilothu, a kind of slate or very thin flag about three- quarters of an inch thick is found. Limestone is found in large quantities at the bottom of the preci pices, which surround the table land and its detached ridges ; in the deep glens behind Shergarh, and in the bed of the Karamnassa. At present, there are about eighty lime kilns, running in a line along the east bank of the plateau, from the village of Badokrd on the north to Baraicha on the south. The burners pay a royalty to the zamin- ddrs of Rs. 2 per 100 maunds quarried, or 6|d. a ton. The most common kind, called gati, is a very compact limestone, the grains of which are perfectly impalpable, and the fracture conchoidal. It is of a very dark grey or even blackish colour, resembling hornstone ; but in some cases it contains white veins of a crystallised character. It burns into a very good white lime, which is largely used by the Irrigation Authorities, and is also exported to Patna and Tirhut. A second kind consists of whitish opaque crystals, full of rents and holes in the surface. This has been pronounced to be Indian ala baster. A third species is a calcareous tufa, usually met with in the form of nodules in the plains, but as a breccia in the hills. A fourth variety, called asurkar, is a very porous, irregular, brownish stone, with the appearance of having been deposited as a moss. It makes a very good lime. Fifthly, there is a sort of stalactite formed in the roofs of caves. And finally, a stony marl called khdri matt, which strongly resembles the indurated clays of that name in Bhdgalpur ; on the application of nitric acid, it effervesces strongly. VOL. XII. L 178 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. It is principally found in the few highest feet of rock about Rohtasgarh and Sdsserdm, where it consists of a white or yellowish friable material. The bed where it occurs is flaggy ; and in places, the lateral transi tion of the same layer from the ordinary limestone may be traced, so that the former is clearly due to the alteration of the limestone. A variety of rock, often called chalk, found in the same neighbour hood, is employed in making soda-water. The Irrigation Department quarry limestone at Dhodand. Near Murlf, not far from Akbarpur, there is a small hill, which is an entire rock of limestone, three-quarters of a mile long and 200 feet high. The mass of the hill consists of limestone in thin strata, nearly horizontal, except where they dip towards the west. The colours vary from white to red and ashy, shading off into grey and black. Another much wrought quarry is on the bank of the stream which emerges from Totald Kund, before it escapes from the glen. The limestone is found on the abrupt bank, disposed in parallel layers, dipping towards the west at an angle of about 400. About a mile to the north of this glen is another quarry containing excellent limestone. It is situated under a quarry of millstone called sardi, and was worked from shafts in the early part of the present century, as recorded by Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton. On the small hill near Sardiyd, north from the tableland, are quarries of compact limestone, both on the north and south faces. On the latter, and in a narrow pass between it and an adjacent ridge, is a quarry of the marl already described as khdri matt. The colour is very white. Alum, slate, and martial pyrites are also found ; they are all con founded by the natives under the general name of kdsis, as they produce a ve'y impure sulphate of iron, much mixed with earth. The best mine is situated in one of the branches of the great glen, called the Kariydrf, or Kasisiya Kho, which lies at the foot of a lofty water fall, where the various strata are well displayed. The ore is found beneath the sandstone and indurated potstone, running round the head of the recess. It is of two kinds — one of a schistose nature, which becomes covered with a yellow efflorescence consisting partly of sulphur, when exposed to the air. The other is a very heavy sulphate of iron, in small, irregular masses, thickly imbedded in a black, fine-grained substance, probably of a similar nature to schistose ore. Its surface is covered with a beautiful white or bluish saline crust. About five miles from the mouth of the great recess called FERAZ NATURAE. 179 Kariyirf, there is another mine in a glen called Amjhar. At the entrance is a small detached peak, composed partly of a compact limestone. The mine is situated in a smaller recess named Telkap, which opens out from the larger. The ore is of the same character as that found in the Kasisiya Kho. The natives say these mines were first opened by a European named Phogal (sic), who had settled in these parts as an indigo planter. The remains of a factory, where sulphate of iron was manufactured, are still to be seen at the foot of the hills near Tilothu. None of these mines, however, are now worked. FerjE Naturje. — The wild animals of Shdhibid District are only met with in the hilly portion to the south. Tigers and bears are there numerous ; the former being often met with in the gorges, which pierce the plateau in all directions. Leopards, viverrine cats, and the wild dog or kod also abound. The last animal is thus described by Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton : — " In its manners it more resembles the domestic dog than any other species of the canine tribe; but in its external appearance, both shape and colour, it'comes nearer to the European fox. It is, however, larger, and the end of the tail is bent down like that of the wolf. It may be distinguished from other kindred animals by having a compressed tail, in which respect it resembles the hunting leopard." These animals hunt in packs, and do much damage, especially to game. Of deer, there are five or six varieties. The sdmbhar is chiefly found in the gorges of the table land. The axis, or spotted deer, is met with on the plains. The porcine, or hog deer, inhabits the long grass on the edge of woods. The nilgdi (blue cow), the Antelope Picta of naturalists, is only seen on the tableland. The females are of a reddish colour, the males of a dark blue tint, approaching to black. The other animals include the wild boar, hyaena, jackal, fox, and hare. The true fish-eating crocodile (Gavialis Gangeticus), which is sometimes 20 feet long, is found in the larger rivers. It has a long and slender snout, and feeds principally on fish. The common crocodile is frequently seen. It often attacks human beings. A list of fishes has been already given (ante p. 167) under the heading " Fisheries." Of game-birds, the barred-headed goose (Anser Indicus) is very common. The black-backed goose (Sarkidornis Melanotus) and the grey goose (Anser cinereus) are also to be found. The former is very rare in Lower Bengal ; and the latter is seldom seen south of 180 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. Central India, but is a common visitor in the north. Of wild ducks, the most remarkable is the shdh murghdH, or sheldrake, which is greatly esteemed. The ordinary wild ducks are the pintail, the gadwdl, the Idl sir, pink-headed duck, or the spotted-billed duck, the white-eyed duck, the tufted duck, the red-headed duck, the shoveller and the brdhminl duck. There are, in addition, the whistling teal, the common teal, the blue-winged and canvas-backed teal. Of the remaining game-birds, may be mentioned the black and grey curlew ; partridges, grey, black, and double-spurred ; peafowl, field and bush quail ; jungle-fowl, snipe, golden and common plover. Other birds include coots, divers, terns, doves of various kinds, blue and green pigeons, paddy-birds, and waders of many kinds ; siras, hornbills, pelicans, adjutants, goshawk, falcons, gulls ; golden oriels, pewits, koel, kingfishers ; woodpeckers, jays, water-wagtails, larks of all kinds, hoopoes, horned owls, screech owls, bulbul, shdmd, bayah, maind, parrots, and parroquets. No rewards are paid for snake-killing. The deaths from snake bites were returned at thirty in 1870, and thirty-two in 1871. During the past three years fifteen deaths have been reported from wild beasts, while Rs. 60 has been paid as rewards for their destruction during the same period. Population — Early Estimates. — ShdTidbad was one of the Dis tricts statistically surveyed by Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton in the begin ning of the present century, when the boundaries were, probably, much the same as at present. He made the area to be 4087 square miles, with a population of 1,419,520 souls, giving an average density of 347 to the square mile. In 1849, Mr. W. Travers compiled a return based upon the Survey of 1844-46 ; the area was 4404 square miles, and the population 1,602,274, or 364 per square mile. The Census of 1872 was taken on 25th January, as in the rest of the Patnd Division ; and both as to the agency employed and the general accuracy of the results, the remarks quoted from the Census Report in the Statistical Account of Gayd (ante, p. 29), apply equally to this District. The enumeration disclosed a total population of 1i723i974 persons, living in 275,041 houses, and 51 10 villages. The area was taken at 4385 square miles, showing (according to the calculations of the Census officers) the average density of the population to be 393 persons per square mile ; the average popula tion of each village, 337 ; and the average number of inmates per house, 6-3. " The thdnds along the Ganges are the most densely POPULATION: CENSUS OF 1871. 181 populated, there being from 600 to 700 persons to the square mile. South of these comes a row of thdnds, corresponding to those on the other side of the Son in Patni and Gayd Districts, with a population of between 400 and 500 to the square mile. Further south the population becomes yet thinner, till in the ihdnd of Sisseram, which is over 1000 square miles in extent, we find no more than 169 to the square mile. In this and in the neighbouring thdnd of Bhabua there is much hilly uncultivated land." The table on the following page shows the distribution of the popu lation, arranged according to Subdivisions and thdnds or police circles. The averages have been taken from the Census Report Population Classified according to Sex, Religion, and Age. — The total population of Shdhibdd District consisted in 1872 of 1,723,974 persons, viz., 835,374 males, and 888,600 females; proportion of males in the total population, 48-5 per cent. Classified according to age, the Census Returns give the following results: — Hindus, under twelve years of age, males 288,363, and females 251,888; above twelve years of age, males 484,560, and females 565,832; total Hindus of all ages, males 772,923, and females 817,720; grand total, 1,590,643, or 92-2 per cent, of the total District population. Muhammadans, under twelve years of age, males 24,275, and females 21,315; above twelve years, males 37,785, and females 49,296; total Muhammadans of all ages, males 62,060, and females 70,611 ; grand total, 132,671, or 7-6 per cent, of the total District population. Christians, under twelve years of age, males 62, and females 58; above twelve years, males 227, and females 114; total Christians of all ages, males 289, and females 172 ; grand total, 461. Other denominations, under twelve years of age, males 17, and females 15 ; above twelve years, males 85, and females 82; total of all ages, males 102, and females 97 ; grand total, 199. Population of all religions, under twelve years of age, males 312,717, and females 273,276; above twelve years of age, males 522,657, and females 615,324; total population of all ages, males 835,374, and females 888,600; grand total, 1,723,974. The percentage of children not exceeding twelve years of age in the population of different religions is as follows : — Hindus, propor tion of male children 181 per cent, and of female children 15-8 per cent. ; total proportion of both sexes 33 '9 per cent, of the total Hindu population. Muhammadans, proportion of male children [ Sen tence cent in ued on page 183.3 -f sh+sJ.i±z r^T^rr ? ^ •§■ i ESS •nr - =• £. £ - «- - -■ .1"! - ? 7 « 3* / i •£ 9 a; «%0C — ■■ c tr ? ! - •3 > z i ir> 5 -o' 1 >3 M f* r*l ^ 00 o* *^» ] 00 ,^' < < -2 i - -z .;- = ~€ C J* S £ — r3 c; z: t^ (5 a ~~U £13 k THE CENSUS OF 1872. 183 \Senience continued from page 181. J 18-3 per cent., and of female children 160 per cent. ; proportion of children of both sexes 34-3 per cent, of the total Muhammadan population. Christians, proportion of male children 13-5 per cent., and of female children 126 per cent.; proportion of children of both sexes 26 -i per cent, of the total Christian population. Other denominations, proportion of male children 8-6 per cent., and of female children 7-5 per cent ; proportion of children of both sexes 161 percent, of the total "other" population. Population of all religions: — Proportion of male children 18-2 per cent., and of female children is-8 per cent ; proportion of children of both sexes 34-o per cent, of the total District population. As in almost every other District of Bengal, the Census Returns show a small proportion of female as compared with male children ; while in the case of persons above twelve years of age, there is an exces sive proportion of females to males. This is probably owing to the fact that girls are considered to arrive at womanhood at an earlier age than boys attain manhood ; and many were consequently entered as adults, while boys of the same age were returned as children. The proportion of the sexes of all ages, namely, males 48-5 per cent, and females 51*5 per cent, is probably correct. Infirm Population. — The number and proportion of insanes and of persons afflicted with certain other infirmities in Shahibid District, is returned in the Census Report as follows : — Insanes, males' 71, and females 7 ; total, 78, or '0045 per cent, of the total population. Idiots, males 4r, and females 21 ; total, 62, or ^0036 per cent, of the population. Deaf and dumb, males 713, and females 197 ; total, 910, or -0528 per cent, of the population. Blind, males 1945, and females 769; total, 2714, or "1574 per cent, of the popu lation. Lepers, males 985, and females 60; total, 1045, or '°5ii per cent, of the population. The total number of male infirms amounts to 3755, or "4494 per cent, of the total male population; while the number of female infirms is only 1054, or "1186 per cent, of the total female population. The total number of infirms of both sexes is 4809, or '2789 per cent, of the total population of the District. The returns given in the District Census Compilation, showing the occupations of the people, are omitted, as they do not stand the test of statistical criticism. Ethnical Division of the People. — The following list of the 1 86 STATISTICAL ACCOUST OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. (xi».) — Persons enumerated by Others, . . 59 Nationality onlt. Natrre Christians, ■ 5S Uriya, Total, . 6467 (xv.) — Persons of rxsxows or s-- -ilnhtsmiHaiians. UNSPECIFIED CASTXS, . 5^64 Maghcl, 357 Grand Total of Hindus, 1,340,320 Pathan, 7o85 Sayyid, . 1.610 Shaikh, . >3,*>7 4, — Persons of Hindu origin not Unspecified, 109,912 recognising Castes. Total, 132,671 Aghori, 7'7 Atith, . 3-454 Total of Natives of India,i,723, 57 i VaishnaT, 1^7° Nanakshahi, Mi Total of Asiatics, . 1,723,580 Sanyasi, 75S Grand Total 1,723,974 Shair, 21a Immigration' has been largely stimulated by the construction of the S<5n Canals, which necessitated the employment of both skilled and unskilled labourers. The former do not exist in any num bers in Shahabid District ; while the latter are certainly inferior to the coolies procured from Chutia Ndgpur and the North western Provinces. The immigrants generally begin to arrive after the end of the rains, and leave when the rainy season comes round again. Their wives and families often accompany them, form ing small colonies along the canals, wherever work is in hand. As the work progresses, they move with it, leaving their straw or reed huts behind. Masons and stone-cutters come from Mirzipur, car penters from Jaunpur and Benires, while ordinary coolies flock from all the adjacent Districts. The Mirzipur Nuniyas are especially preferred, as they are a very superior class to their brethren in Shdhabdd. They invariably insist on an advance before they commence work. According to figures supplied by the Irrigation Authorities, there was a daily average of 6809 imported labourers at work during the year 1874-75. The Executive- Engineer of the Baxdr Subdivision returns, for his own section of the canal, the names of the Districts from which the labourers stated that they came, as follows : — Alldhdbdd, 675 ; Mirzipur, 480; Benares, 437 ; Azfmgarh, 248 ; Jaunpur, 362 ; Faizdbid, 1 ; Ghizfpur, 401 ; Pratip- garh, 5; Gorakhpur, 107; Patni, 123; total, 2839. Emigration. — On this point Mr. Bayley, the Commissioner of the X ETHNICAL DIVISION OF THE PEOPLE. 185 Nanniyar, I,l6o Sonar (goldsmith), • H.997 Rastogi, 737 Sunrf (distiller), • 27,795 Rauniyar, • ■ 1,879 Teli (oilman), • 41,440 Sinduriya, 7o9 Total, . 146,829 Total, . 32,598 (ix.)— Weaver Castes. (iv.) — Pastoral Castes. Dhuniya, 26 Garerf 18,259 Jug! and Patua, 2,914 Goald, 214,605 Tantf 8,156 Jar, 366 Tattama, 1,057 Total, 233,230 Total, 12,153 (v.) — Castes engaged in preparing (x.) — Labouring Castes. Cooked Food. Beldar, .... 9,003 Halwai, .... 4,552 Nuniya 13,183 Kandu 52,601 Others, .... 7 Ganrar 7,544 Total, 22,193 Total, 64,697 (xi.) — Castes engaged in Selling (vi.) — Agricultural Castes. Fish and Vegetables. Barui and Tambuli, 7,i89 Kewani, .... 87 Kamkar, 8,827 Khatik, . . . . 179 Koeri, . I3o.394 Turaha 3,206 Kurmi, 58,54° Total, Mdli, . 3,432 3,472 Others, 9 (xii.) — Boating and Fishing Castes. Total, 208,391 Banpar, 4t Dhimar, 41 (vii.) — Castes engaged chiefly Gonrhf, 4,002 in Personal Se*vice. Keut, . 706 Dhanuk, .... 1,781 Macliua, 21 Dhobi, . 14,568 Mdlld, . 15,267 Hajjam or Napit, . 25,808 Muriyarf, 6 Kahar, 43,227 Surahiya, 72 Tior, . 242 Total, 85,384 Total, 20,398 (viii.) — Artisan Castes. Barhai (carpenter), . . 13,093 (xiii.) — Dancer, Musician, Beggar, Darzi (tailor), . . 113 and Vagabond Castes. Gandharb 173 Kansarf and Thathera (brazier), .... 2,258 Pawariya, .... 16 Kamjani 29 Kumbhar (potter), . . . 18,931 Laherl (lac-worker), . . 243 Total, 218 Lohar (blacksmith), . . 27,959 1 186 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. (xiv.)— Persons enumerated by Others, . 59 Nationality only. Native Christians, 58 Uriya Total, . 6,467 (xv.) — Persons of unknown or 5. — Muhammaiians. unspecified Castes, . 5,264 Mughul, 357 G*and Total of Hindus, 1,340,820 Pathan, 7,585 Sayyid, 1. 610 Shaikh, . 13.207 4. — Persons of Hindu origin not Unspecified, . 109,912 recognising Castes. Total, 132,671 Aghori, 7'7 Atith, . 3.454 Total of Natives of India, 1,723, 571 Vaishnav, 1,070 Total of Asiatics, . 1,723,58° Nanakshdhi, 141 Sanyasi, 75S Grand Total . 1,723,974 Shaiv, 210 Immigration has been largely stimulated by the construction of the S6n Canals, which necessitated the employment of both skilled and unskilled labourers. The former do not exist in any num bers in Shdhdbad District; while the latter are certainly inferior to the coolies procured from Chutia Nagpur and the North western Provinces. The immigrants generally begin to arrive after the end of the rains, and leave when the rainy season comes round again. Their wives and families often accompany them, form ing small colonies along the canals, wherever work is in hand. As the work progresses, they move with it, leaving their straw or reed huts behind. Masons and stone-cutters come from Mirzdpur, car penters from Jaunpur and Bendres, while ordinary coolies flock from all the adjacent Districts. The Mirzdpur Nuniyas are especially preferred, as they are a very superior class to their brethren in Shdhabdd. They invariably insist on an advance before they commence work. According to figures supplied by the Irrigation Authorities, there was a daily average of 6809 imported labourers at work during the year 1874-75. The Executive-Engineer of the Baxar Subdivision returns, for his own section of the canal, the names of the Districts from which the labourers stated that they came, as follows : — Alldhdbdd, 675 ; Mirzdpur, 480; Benares, 437; Azfmgarh, 248 ; Jaunpur, 362 ; Faizdbdd, 1 ; Ghdzipur, 401 ; Pratap- garh, 5; Gorakhpur, 107; Patnd, 123; total, 2839. Emigration. — On this point Mr. Bayley, the Commissioner of the EMIGRATION. 187 Patna Division, remarks in his Administration Report for 1872-73 : — " It may be said generally, that while labour-recruiters have no footing whatever in Tirhut and Champdran, they are active and successful in the Districts south of the Ganges and on the line of rail. ... Of 877 emigrants registered in Shahdbad, 537 were strangers from a distance who had nothing to do with the Dis trict ; from Baxdr alone, out of 424 persons registered, only 40 were residents of the District." From a register kept in the Collector's office, it seems that in 1866-67 there emigrated to the colonies 654 persons; in 1867-68, 328 ; in 1868-69, M56 ; and in 1869-70, 1362. At the same time the following numbers went to Assam and Cachdr: — In 1864-66, 3,901 persons; and from January to June 1866, 2673. The Collec tor remarks these emigrants were mostly low-caste Hindus, with very few Musalmans. The Protector of Emigrants has supplied me with the following figures, showing the number of emigrants to the colonies from the year 1869-70 to 1873-74, both inclusive. To the Mauritius. — In 1869-70 — Hindu high caste, 45; low caste, 310; Musalmdn, 64; total 419. In 187071 — Hindu high caste, 85 ; low caste, 326; Musalmdn, 78; total, 489. In 1871-72 — Hindu high caste, 159; low caste, 455; Musalmdn, 120; total, 734. In 1872-73 — Hindu high caste, 197; low caste, 586 ; Mus almdn, 128; total, 911. In 1873-74 — Hindu high caste, 221; low caste, 748 ; Musalmdn, 97 ; total, 1066. Total to the Mauritius — Hindu high caste, 707 ; low caste, 2425 ; Musalmdn, 487. Grand total, 3619. Returned 8. To Demerara. — In 1869-70 — Hindu high caste, 133; low caste, 1051; Musalmdn, 158; total, 1362. In 1870-71 — Hindu high caste, 60; low caste, 230; Musalmdn, 54; total, 344. In 1871-72 — Hindu high caste, 26; low caste, 64; Musalmdn, 24; total, 114. In 1872-73 — Hindu high caste, 34; low caste, 122; Musalmdn, 23; total, 179. In 1873-74 — Hindu high caste, 104; low caste, 164; Musalmdn, 22 ; total, 290. Total to Demerara — Hindu high caste, 377 ; low caste, 1631 ; Musalmdn, 281. Grand total, 2289. None returned. To Trinidad. — In 1869-70 — Hindu high caste, 67; low caste, 353; Musalmdn, 37; total, 457. 1870-71 — Hindu high caste, 54; low caste, 121; Musalmdn, 39; total, 214. In 1871-72 — Hindu high caste, 18 ; low caste, 46 ; Musalman, 12 ; total, 76. In 1872-73 rU z: zzzzcal Azzzzzrr zf zz~aha3ad district. eanrs zr.Tzn.irrjg. sl -y .1,-1 a cssme: n'rv.nimg to rarr or caste, .s •gj.n r:ni ae 1'srrrt C.-rT'rnn C:tncil.TT:nn. by Mr. Magrarh. Tie rLciia -ssrss wH. be aesfxncsd mi a sxbseqoent page, bet araffs: .a a -:Tf>— «—rr acrie^. accsnazur 33 tie caak wnica Eijej no.d ax "rra. esteem. S'uCZ "J* IrTX-TALTTT. Tj-JlW, 3* 3JTWT. .... 2IJS3 Castx. Om, ..... 360 Ojiiiji . .... 91,777 L — 5>:s-Aatri3. Zoa...... 4.675 EaspUa. .... 157 ^™=^ .... 77.9*7 Iraa, ..... J7 GMjaiuiiav .... 272 .... 32 ~7_. , W->.-r_ .... 2 Mjn:l"llr .... O Geaon. x ICiaat ii, . . ". . 3,281 Ca»prr:rirrf. ... 27 Mkubk; .... 10,117 Pts- 954* Taoi. . 257 Rjjvar 4r*5' IL— Krna «L»c3tt. Tool, . 230,368 F >r«aao» Castes. .*. — Ctker tkat Xttsc jf h . 198,631 . 185,652 Total, . 3*4-283 B. — .Vtxkra tf Im£a and Bmrmak. Istesjosiaxx Casus. 1. — Aaarigcmmi Tribe Eabbao, 72,038 Efcar, . 7,101 Chera, 373 161 ::- Kanjhar, 4° ITi*' i|MMI T|T|i. Kbarwar, >673 Total, 121,707 720 (iii.) — Tkadmg Castes. Total, «3r24S Agarwala, .... 1,069 Agrafcri, 1,181 2, — Sewd-Htmhtued Aboriginal. Banija, 22,050 Arikk and Babeliyi, 1,377 Baraavar. 96 Bagdi, 2 Kasarvazi, 2,806 K* 4,609 Kasandhan, 4c, 547 Ba»ri, 334 Kham, 352 Btaiyi, .... 234 Mukeri, 12 ETHNICAL DIVISION OF THE PEOPLE. 135 Narcniyar, 1,160 Sonar (goldsmith), • 14.997 Rastogi, 737 Sunri (distiller), • 27,795 Rauniyar, . . 1,879 Tell (oilman), • 4i,440 Sinduriya, 709 Total, . 146,829 Total, . 32,598 (ix.)— Weaver Castes. (iv.) — Pastoral Castes. Dhuniya, 26 Gareri 18,259 Jugi and Patua, 2,914 Goala, 214,605 Tanti 8,156 Jit 366 Tattama, 1,057 Total, . 233,230 Total, 12,153 (v.) — Castes engaged in preparing (x.) — Labouring Castes. Cooked Food. Beldar, .... 9,003 Halwai, .... 4,552 Nuniya, .... 13,183 Kandu 52,601 Others, .... 7 Ganrar 7,544 Total, 22,193 Total, . 64,697 (xi.)— Castes engaged in Selling (vi.)— Agricultural Castes. Fish and Vegetables. Barui and Tambuli, 7,l89 Kewani, .... 87 K.imkar, 8,827 Khatik, . . . 179 Koeri, . 130,394 Turaha, .... 3,206 Kurmi, 58,540 Total, Mali, . 3432 3,472 Others, 9 (xii.) — Boating and Fishing Castes. Total, 208,391 Banpar, 4i Dhimar, 4« (vii.) — Castes engaged chiefly Gonrhi, 4,002 in Personal Service. Keut, . 706 Dhanuk, .... 1,781 Machua, 21 Dhobi 14,568 Malla, . 15,267 Hajjam or Napit, . . . 25,808 Muriyari, 6 Kahar, .... 43,227 Surahiya, 72 Tior, . 242 Total, . 85,384 Total, 20,398 (viii.) — Artisan Castes. Barhai (carpenter), I3>093 (xiii.) — Dancer, Musician, Beggar, and Vagabond Castes. Darzi (tailor), »3 Kansari and Thathera Gandharb, 173 (brazier) 2,258 Pawariya, 16 29 Kumbhar (potter), . «8,93« Ramjani, Laheri (lac-worker), 243 Total, 218 Lohar (blacksmith), 27,959 188 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABaD DISTRICT. — Hindu high caste, 7; low caste, 31; Musalman, 5; total 43. In 1873-74 — Hindu high caste, 1 ; low caste, 22 ; Musalman, none ; total, 23. Total to Trinidad — Hindu high caste, 147 ; low caste, 573 ; Musalman, 93. Grand total, 813. None returned. To Jamaica. — 1869-70 — Hindu high caste, 20; low caste, 156 ; Musalman, 19; total, 195. In 1870-71 — Hindu high caste, 22; low caste, 61; Musalman, 52; total, 135. In 1871-72 — Hindu high caste, 13 ; low caste, 46 ; Musalman 3 ; total, 62. In 1872-73 — Hindu high caste, 2 ; low caste, 1 ; Musalman, 2 ; total, 5. In 1873-74 — Hindu high caste, 19; low caste, 129; Musalman, 9; total, 157. Total to Jamaica — Hindu high caste, 76; low caste, 393 ; Musalman, 85. Grand total, 554. None returned. To Surinam. — In 1872-73 — Hindu high caste, 2; low caste, 8; total, 10. In 1873-74 — Hindu high caste, 35; low caste, 101 ; Musalman, 18 ; total, 154. Total to Surinam — Hindu high caste, 37 ; low caste, 109; Musalman, 18. Grand total, 164. None returned. To Grenada. — In 1870-71 — Hindu high caste, 7; low caste, 26; Musalman, 1. Total to Grenada, 34. None returned. To St. Vincent. — In 1869-70 — Hindu high caste, 8 ; low caste, 51; Musalman, 6; total, 65. In 1870-71 — Hindu high caste, 5; low caste, 7 ; Musalman, 3 ; total, 15. Total to St Vincent — Hindu high caste, 13 ; low caste, 58 ; Musalman, 9. Grand total, 80. None returned. To Nevis. — In 1873-74 — Hindu high caste, o ; low caste, 1. Total to Nevis, 1. To French Colonies. — In 1873-74 — Hindu high caste, 28 ; low caste, 72; Musalman, 19; total, 119. None returned. Aboriginal Tribes. — (1) Cheru, number 373, almost entirely in the Bhabua Subdivision. According to Colonel Dalton, the Gangetic provinces were once, in all probability, occupied by a people speaking the Miinda or Kolarian language, of whom the Cherus were the last dominant tribe. Sir H. Elliot states that they were sometimes considered a branch of the Bhars. Through the whole of Behar, but especially in Shahabad, there are many monu ments attributed either to them or to the Kols; but as some of these are temples dedicated to idol-worship, it is impossible that they were erected by the latter. At Tilothu in the Sasseram Sub division, there is a large image said to have been fashioned by them. Colonel Dalton concludes that the Kols alluded to were really Kharwars, who were for long mixed up with, and subject ABORIGINAL TRIBES. 189 to, the Cherus. The two tribes certainly claim affinity, and have some customs in common. Their physical characteristics are high cheek-bones, small eyes obliquely set, with corresponding eyebrows, low, broad noses and large mouths, with protuberant lips. Dr. Buch anan-Hamilton says that the old Cherus claimed to be Nagbansfs, and held a tradition of their origin similar to that adopted by the Chutii Nagpur family. It is traditionally asserted that the whole District of Shahibdd formerly belonged to the Cherus. Dr. Buch anan-Hamilton supposes they were princes of the Sunak family, who flourished in the time of Gautama, about 500-600 b.c. They still create a rdjA for every five or six houses, and invest him with a tilak. They were expelled from Shahabdd about 400-500 a.d. by the Siviras or Suars, according to some; by a tribe called Hariha, according to others. Both the Cherus and their conquerors, the Suars, are con sidered impure by the Brdhmans. It is evident from their temples that they were worshippers of Siva and of Hanumdn. Whatever their position has been, they are now found in the meanest offices, lurking in the jungles with their cousins, the Kharwars. They do not culti vate, but live by selling honey and firewood. Although they speak Hindi to outsiders, they are said to possess a secret language, un intelligible to Hindus. The Paldmau Cherus, who till recently re tained something of their old position and rank, invaded that country from Rohtas : and with the aid of Rajput chiefs, the ancestors of the Thakurins of Ranka and Chainpur, drove out a Rajput Raja of Pald- mau, and forced him to retire to Sargiiji. (2.) Kharwar, number 5673, principally found in the Bhabua Subdivision. They themselves say that their original seat was Rohtis — so named from its having been the abode of Rohitaswa, son of King Harischandra, of the family of the Sun. They call them selves Surjyd-bansf, and wear the paitd, or caste string. Another tradition is that they are a mixed race, who originated during the time of Rdjd Ben, who gave orders that all men might wed women of any caste or country; the Kharwars being the offspring of the union of a Kshattriya father with a Bharnf woman of aboriginal descent. In different places they have adopted the rules of Hindu purity in very different degrees. Colonel Dalton considers that their physiog nomy shows them to be of pure Turanian descent, and not impro bably connected with the Kiratis, who call themselves by a somewhat similar name, Kerawa, and who, like the Kharwirs, have a sub division called Maryhf. The Cherus and Khanvdrs both observe igo STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. triennial sacrifices. Every third year a buffalo, with other animals, is slaughtered in the sacred grove called Sarna, or on a rock near the village. They also, like some of the Kols, have a priest in each village, called pdhn, or baigd, who always belongs to one of the im pure castes ; and Colonel Dalton observes that the pdhn alone can offer the triennial sacrifice, at which no Brdhmanical priests are allowed to interfere. His priestly functions in other matters, how ever, are fast being usurped by the Brdhmans from the plains. The Kharwars are divided into four tribes, Bhogta, Mdnjhf, Riut, and Mahdto. The low Kharwars are extremely similar to the Santils, being very dark, with pyramidal-shaped, low noses, thick protuberant lips, and cheek-bones which project so far that their temples are hollow. They generally follow the Hindu observances in marriages, and in their disposal of the dead. (3.) Kanjhar, number 40, entirely in the town and (hand of Arrah. They are a gipsy-like tribe. The men make ropes of munj grass, and collect Mas Mias for tatties ; the women tattoo the females of the lower Hindu castes. (4.) Kol, number 48, found in the south of the District." The Kharrias, a branch of the Kols, who live near the southern Koel river, say that they were originally settled between Rohtds and Patni ; and that, quarrelling with their relations, they fled into the jungles, where they wandered till they came to the Koel. There are numer ous antiquities in the District ascribed to the Cherus and Kols. From various traditions, it would appear that the sovereigns were Cherus, and the subjects Kols. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton states that, while the Cherus accepted Buddha's doctrines, the Kols rejected them, and adhered to the life of freedom and impurity which they still enjoy. (5.) Nat, number 720, a vagabond race, similar in many points to European gipsies. (6.) Bhar, also called Rdjbhar, Bharat, and Bharativa, number 5679, almost entirely in the Baxar Subdivision. According to Sir H. Elliot, this tribe formerly possessed the whole country from Gorakhpur to Bandelkhand, in which numerous old stone forts are still ascribed to them. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton says they seem to have once occupied a large part of Shdhibdd, and that in his time they still held large estates. They claimed to be Parihar Rajputs ; but in an inscription of 1801, one of their chiefs clearly acknow ledges himself to be a Bhar. In this District there are three stone castles said to have been occupied by them. One at Ramgarh, HIGH CASTES. 191 which commands the entrance to a wild valley, consists of a square space surrounded by a wall about 8 feet high, pierced with loop holes. In the adjacent pass there is an image of cut stone, re sembling a female killing a buffalo, probably the work of the Cherus. The other two fortresses, called Raghuvir garh and Syamal garh, resemble European castles. The Bhars are now one of the most degraded of races, taking especially to the keeping of pigs. (7.) DhAngar, number 712, are found principally in Sasserdm thdnd. According to Colonel Dalton, they are the same as the Uraons of Chutia Nagpur; the word Dhangar, being apparently derived from dang or drang, a "hill," may mean any hill-men. They are a hard-working race, and as a rule do not hold land. They affirm themselves that they were long settled on Rohtas and the adjoining hills, whence they were driven by the Muhammadans. But as they also assert that they were in Chutia Ndgpur prior to the birth of Phanf Mukuta Rdi, the first Ndgbansf Rdjd, they must have been under the sway of that dynasty before Muhammad was born. According to their own account, after they had been expelled from Rohtas, they divided into two parties ; one of which migrated to Rajmahdl, while the other proceeded up the S6n into Paldmau, and so along the valley of the Koel into their present seat. Hindu Castes. — The following account of fifty-nine castes in Shahdbdd District, arranged, as far as possible, according to the rank which they hold in local esteem, has been compiled from Sir H. Elliot's "Races of the North-Western Provinces of India ;" Mr. Magrath's note on the castes of Behar in the Census Report of 1872, and other authorities. The numbers are taken from the Census Report : — (1.) Brahman, 198,631 in number, or 11-5 of the total population of the District. The subdivisions found are Kanaujiyd, Gaur, Tir- hutiyd, Dobe, Chobe, Pdnde, Tewdrf, Misr, Upddhydya, Sukul, Ojhd, Bajpai, Jajarbedf, Tribedi. The Kanaujiyd tribe is especially numerous in Shdhdbdd District ; it is divided into Kanaujiyd proper, Sarwdrfd, Jijhotiyd, and Sanadhia. Many of them are landowners. (2.) RAjput, 185,652 in number, or 107 per cent. of the total population of the District ; principally found in Arrah thdnd, where they number no less than 21 per cent. of the population. Though numerous throughout the whole of Behar, this District seems to have been their home. They are usually landowners and cultivators, and in many cases occupy whole villages. Numbers of them seek service 192 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. either in the army or police ; and it is well known that during the dis turbances of 1857 they formed the bulk of Kudr Sinh's mutineers. It was in Shdhdbdd that they first established themselves under the guidance of the Bhojpur Rajds, and exterminated the Siviras, the conquerors of the Cherus, to be in their turn crushed by the Cherus, Bhars, and Kharwdrs. It is generally supposed, though denied by the Bhojpur Rajds, that Rdjd Bhoj had no son, and that lie was succeeded by his son-in-law. The Bhojpur family account is that Bhoj's son, Uddijit, had two sons, Jayadeva and Ranadevar. The former became King of Gajjara, which ultimately descended to his daughter, while Bhojpur was given to Ranadevar as an appanage. The latter died without any issue ; and then arose various low tribes who expelled the Paramarkas, who retired to Ujain near Dhardnagar, where they stayed until the Muhammadans took them under their protection, and aided them in destroying the tribes of robbers, who were then beginning to give much trouble. (3.) Babhan, 72,038 in number, principally in the Arrah and Baxdr Subdivisions, and especially numerous in thdnd Pfru. They rank next to Brdhmans and Rajputs, and are also known as Bhiiinhdr or zaminddri Brdhmans. The principal subdivisions met with are : — Eksarfd, Donwar, Areh, Kodorfd, Bdnsmaith, Domkatar, Jathariyd, Manchfd. All of these intermarry. They claim to be Sarwdria Brdhmans, who received pargand Kaswdr from Raja Bandr, but on becoming addicted to agricultural pursuits, lost their rank as priests. They do not intermarry either with Brdhmans or Rajputs. From the former they adopt the names Rai and Sinh ; from the latter, Tewdrf and Misr. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton says that there were 16,600 families of them in the District at the time of his survey in 1812. (4.) Bhat, 101 in number, most numerous in Pfru thdnd. They form the bard or genealogist class, who were formerly employed by families to recite the deeds of ancestors at weddings and other festive occasions. They are now principally cultivators. (6.) Kathak, 161 in number, of whom 120 reside in thdnd Bhabiia. They are probably an ofTshoot of the preceding caste, but are now singers and dancers ; many also are cultivators. They do not allow their women to appear in public. (6.) KHATrf, 352 in number, a class of traders, who are sup posed to have originally come from the Panjdb. They are now most numerous in the thdnd of Bhabud with Chdnd. They claim to be Raj TRADING CASTES. 193 puts, but the latter will not eat with them, though the Saraswatf Brahmans take cooked food from their hands. (7.) Kayasth, 42,374 in number, the writer class of the District; but their former monopoly is fast being wrested from them, more especially in posts where a knowledge of English is required. The principal subdivisions found are Sribasthab, Aithana, Karan, Ara- astha, Saksena, Rirhf, and Bhatnagar. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton says most of them subsist by agriculture. The history of the Kayasths is very obscure. They themselves say that they came in the train of the Brihmans from Kanauj, but give no account of their origin. Colonel Dalton's theory is, that when organised systems of govern ment arose, a demand sprang np for a new class of men whose duties should include subjects that the higher castes either despised or neglected ; and that, consequently, a new caste was created. The Kayasths especially celebrate the festival of Sri-Panchami, held in honour of Saraswatf, the goddess of learning. " Pens and inkstands are cleaned and arranged, strewn with flowers and barley blades ; and there must be no writing on that day except with chalk. In most matters they are strict Hindus, but there is no caste which in dulges more openly and freely in intoxicating liquors." Trading Castes. — The following eleven castes of traders rank almost on an equality. (8.) Agarwdla, 1069 in number; an up- country trading caste, who derive their name from Agroha on the borders of Hariana, their original home. They are principally found in Arrah and Sasseram towns, where they number 449 and 257 re spectively. As a rule, they are well-to-do. (9.) Agrahri, 1181 in number; mostly in the Sasserlm and Bhabud Subdivisions. They are Sikhs by descent, who settled in the District two hundred years ago. They now principally import Manchester piece-goods. (10.) Baniya, 22,050 in number; pretty equally distributed all over the District Under this head is included a great number of minor sub divisions. (1 1.) Barnawar, 96 in number ; mostly in th&n&s Piru and Dhangaon. The Changariyd subdivision of this caste was not separately enumerated in the Census. (12.) Kasarwanf, 2806 in number ; principally met with in the Sadr and Baxdr Subdivisions. (13.) Kasandhan, 547 in number; principally met with in the Sasseram Subdivision. (14.) Nauniyar, n 60 in number. (15.) Rastogf, 737 in number. (16.) Rauniyar, 1879 in number. (17.) Sfndiiriyd, 709 in number. (18.) Mukerf, 12 in number; all found in thdnd Baxir. VOL. XII. M 194 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. Pastoral Castes. — (19.) Garerf, 18,529 in number; also known as Gadariyd, the shepherd class. As with the Jats and Gujdrs, the younger brother marries the elder brother's widow. In addition to tending sheep, they weave woollen blankets. (20.) Godld, 214,605 in number; also called Ahir: the cowherd caste, the most numerous in the District, forming 12-4 per cent. of the total population, and no less than 16 .5 per cent. in Arrah thdnd, and 15 -3 in Belauti. Their origin is obscure; but it is well ascertained that they were formerly in much more consideration than at present. In Shdhdbdd District they belong principally to the Godlbans clan, subdivided into the following subdivisions: — Majrauth, Ghosf, Kanaujiyd, Gadf, Darhor, Goarfa, Kisnath. They are known as the Magadha Goalas, who have, according to Colonel Dalton, a much commoner appear ance than those who say they come from Mathura, and are called Mathurdbdsfs. They are dark-complexioned, with large hands and feet, and their features are undefined and coarse. The jail statistics show that they furnish more than their proper quota of criminals. Many of the Godria Ahfrs are cattle-lifters of the worst type, but the Kisndth subdivision is much more respectable. Some of the Ghosfs have been converted to Isldm. (21.) Gujdr or Jdt, 366 in number ; in the Sdsserdm and Bhabud Subdivisions. They are pastoral in their habits, and also adopt the custom that the younger brother should marry the elder brother's widow. They are divided into Deswalf and Pachade. Castes who Sell Food. — (22.) Halwdi, 4552 in number, the confectioner class. The subdivisions found are Madhesiyd, Kan aujiyd, and Awddhiyd. (23.) Kdndu, 52,601 in number, sometimes called Bhdrbhauja, prepare parched rice in various forms, such as chird, mini, and chird-murki. The men also build mud walls and lay bricks, the women parch grain. According to Dr. Buchanan-Hamil ton, they rank as full Siidras. (24.) Ganrdr, 7544 in number, are evenly distributed in all the Subdivisions except Sasserdm. They sell cooked food. They are really a branch of the preceding caste, and have been sometimes confused with the Gonrf Mallds, a fishing caste. (25.) MAli, 3432 in number. They are inoculators as well as gardeners ; many have of late years taken to practising as vac cinators. (26.) SonAr, 14,997 in number. This, the goldsmith caste, is considered pure in Behar. The hereditary office of weighing the crops, when divided between landlord and tenant, has almost entirely AGRICULTURAL CASTES. 195 disappeared; the Sondr rarely holds land, but devotes himself to his trade. As a rule, he is well off. Mr. Eyre affirms that his profits aver age 12 dnnds (1s. 6d.) per day in town, and as much as 2s. in the country. In the town of Sasserdm there are six houses of Sondrs, known as Ayadbdsf Sondrs, emigrants from Oudh, who settled there three hundred years ago. Agricultural Castes. — (27.) Baruf and Tdmbulf, 7189 in number, found in every thdmi except Rdmgarh. According to Dr. Buchanan- Hamilton, they rank as full Sddras. They grow the/i//, or betel-leaf plant, which requires much labour and expense, but pays well. (28.) Koerf, 130,394 in number, or 7-5 of the total popula tion, most numerous in thdnd Dumrdon. The subdivisions found in Shdhdbdd are Maghyd, Dangf, and Kanaujiya. They are also known as Murao, and are identical with the Kachchfs of the North-Western Provinces. Colonel Dalton says the distinction between the Koerfs and the Kurmfs is that the former are market-gardeners as well as agriculturists. They rear table-vegetables, tobacco, opium, and such other crops as require careful cultivation. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton estimated that there were 30,000 families of this caste in Shdhdbdd. They are generally allowed to be pure Siidras. Their own tradition is that they were specially created by Mahddeo and Parvatf for the gardens of Benares. A learned pandit informed Colonel Dalton that the derivation of the word Koerf was Ku, earth; and art, enemy. (29.) Kurmf, 58,540 in number, especially numerous in the thdnds of the Sasserdm Subdivision. Together with the Koerfs, they form 13 per cent. of the total population of the District. The principal subdivisions found in Shahdbdd are Jeswar, Awadhiyd, Samastwdr, Maghyd, and Ddngf. Colonel Dalton remarks that in the Kurmfs we probably have the descendants of some of the earliest of the Aryan colonists of Bengal. Many antiquities, showing traces of advanced civilisation, but now concealed in deep jungle, are generally ascribed to them. They employ Brdhmans as priests in all ceremonies, except in marriages. They are a brown to tawny coloured people, of aver age height, well proportioned, and rather lightly framed. They show well-shaped heads and high features, less refined than Brdhmans, less martial than Rajputs, of humbler mien even than the Godlds ; but, except when they have obviously intermixed with aborigines, they are unquestionably Aryan in looks. Grey eyes and brownish hair are sometimes met with amongst them. The women have usually small and well-formed hands and feet. (30.) Kdmkar, 8827 196 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHADAD DISTRICT, in number, principally found in thdnds Belautf and Chausd. (31-) Lohar, 87,959 *n number. This, the blacksmith class, though reckoned pure in Bengal, is impure in Behar. {32.) Hajjdm or Napit, 25,808 in number, principally in the Arrah and Sasseram Subdivisions. This, the barber caste, is represented in almost every village. Its members often acquire a good deal of influence in the families which they attend. Like the DhoWs, they are often Musalmans, and are considered impure. (33.) Kahdr, 43,227 in number. They are better known to Europeans than most castes, owing to their being often employed as personal servants. Most of them belong to the Rawanf subdivision, but the Kharward and Turdha are also met with. They are much given to intoxication, but are rather particular as to their food. Artisan Castes. — (34.) Barhdf, carpenters, 13,093 in number, most numerous in the Arrah Subdivision. The subdivisions found in Shdhdbad are Maghyd and Kiika. They are considered impure, for noevident reason. The Kharadhfs who work in Mayer wood (Mimosa catechu) are included under this caste. (35.) Kansdrf and Thathera, 2258 in number, workers in copper, brass, and bell-metal; they cannot cast the metal in which they work, but have to buy it from Miredpur and Benares. They are paid partly in old vessels, which they melt down to make up afresh. According to Dr. Buchanan- Hamilton, they rank with the pure Siidras. (36.) Kumbhdr, 18,931 in number. This, the potter caste, is considered impure, it being alleged that they cut the throats of the vessels they make when they remove them from the wheel. The subdivisions found in ShaTiabad are Bfahat, Kanaujiyd, and Awddhiyd. (37.) Laherf or Nurf, 243 in number, of whom 206 are in Sasseram Subdivision. This caste, who are Jac-workers, is also considered impure. (38.) DhuNfva, cotton-carders, 26 in number, all found in the town of Arrah. The weavers are conspicuous, says Colonel Dalton, amongst the craftsmen who have been degraded. Many of them have consequently turned Muhammadans. (39.) Jug* and Patua, 2914 in number. Makers of silk strings, on which they thread beads and pearls. They are on the whole a well-to-do class, but are reckoned impure. (40.) Tantf, 89,156 in number, principally found in the Subdivisions of Arrah and Sas seram. {41.) Tattama, 1057 in number, all in tltdnd Damraon. (42.) Sunri, *7,795 in number. The Bhojpur Sunrfs generally RELIGIOUS DIVISION OF THE PEOPLE. 201 retaining two-thirds himself for seed and cattle food, or he supplies the daily meal of his workmen. Women spin the cotton into thread. The stock of a kolinhof is — one pdnjd or comb, value 8 dnnds (is.) ; one knife, 2 dntids (3d.); one pair of scissors, 4. dnnds (6d.) ; one wooden frame, 6 dnnds (ad.) ; and rope, 2 dnnds (3d.): total value, R. 1-6 (2s. ad.). The net profits of a loom are returned by Mr. Eyre at Rs. 7-2 (14s. 3d.). The kolintwfs live frugally, and though they pay tnohtarfd (a kind of cess) to the zaminddrs, earn on the whole a fair livelihood. The stock-in-trade of the Joliha proper costs Rs. 2-3 (4s. 4^d.). They live entirely by their looms, and hold no land. The zaminddrs used to employ them as customary porters, but the practice has recently been resisted. (2.) SangtarAsh, or stone-cutters. There is a large demand in the District for stone for building purposes, mills and curry-stones ; and as the Sangtarash are comparatively few, they are as a rule well-to-do. They earn on an average from 6 dnnds (ad.) to R. 1 (2s.) per diem. (3.) SAbangar, or soap-boilers. They reside in Sisserdm town, and receive an average monthly wage of Rs. 10 (j£i). (4.) KHARADHf. These people make combs, platters, and toys from various jungle woods. Their wares are in great demand, and they earn about Rs. 7 (14s.) per month. The Religious Division of the People adopted in the Census Report is into Hindus, Muhammadans, Christians, and a variety of petty sects described under the heading of "Others." As already stated, the population of ShdhaMd District amounts to 1,723,974 persons: 835.374 males and 888,600 females. Of these, 772,923 males and 817,720 females are Hindus, who form 92-2 per cent of the total population. The Muhammadans number 62,060 males and 70,611 females; total 132,671, or 7-6 per cent, of the total popu lation. No Buddhists are found in the District. The Christians number 289 males and 172 females; total 461, or -2 of the total population. The remaining 199 — 102 males and 97 females — belong to a number of petty sects not classified according to religion. The Muhammadans of Shdhdbid are relatively less numerous than in any other District in Behar, forming only 7 -6 per cent, of the total population, a result hardly to be expected considering the strong footing they acquired in the south of the District. There, however, the proportion is higher, being 87 in the whole Slsseram Subdivision, rising to 117 in the thdnd of Sisserim, and 40-9 in the town itself. In the Census Report, the Musulmans are not enumerated 198 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. that which has been quoted on a previous page from the District Census Compilation. (i.) ArAkh and BaheliyA, 1377 in number; mostly found in the south of the District, in the Subdivisions of Sisserim and Bhabua. They are a semi-civilised class of bird-catchers and hunters, who are supposed to be the same as the Aherujis of the North-Westem Pro vinces, mentioned by Elliot as connected with Dhanuks, who are also fowlers. They do not follow Hindu customs of marriage. They keep pigs, drink spirits, and eat flesh, but will not touch a Chamar or Dom. (2.) BARf, 4609 in number; fairly distributed all over the Dis trict, except in Sisseram thdnd. They probably come from Oudh, where they are noted as good soldiers. They now make and light torches, and also manufacture the leaf plates from which Hindus eat. (3.) Bind, 21,383 in number ; principally in the Bhabua' Subdivision, where they number 11,084. They are generally fishermen or boat- owners, and according to Mr. Magrath, poor and inoffensive. This description, however, is not borne out by other authorities. They are well known as habitual thieves, and undoubtedly furnish a large proportion of professional criminals. Registers of them are kept by the police ; and when they set out from their homes, information is sent to the neighbouring Districts. (4.) ChAin, 360 in number ; principally in thdnd Sisseram. They are chiefly boatmen, but also catch fish. (5.) MusAhar, 10,117 in number; principally in the Arrah Sub division. Colonel Dalton and Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton agree in thinking they belong to the Bhriiyi tribe, whom they resemble in using round huts. Mr. Magrath considers that they are rather to be con nected with the Thiols, who reckon among themselves a tribe called Musihar. The Thirds have a legend that the chief priest of their king, Maddan, Sen Raji of Kisf, was Risu Musihar. The Musi- hars are good labourers, though timid, and are much sought after by indigo planters. They are not choice in their food, and often drink to excess. (6.) PAsf, 9541 in number; once a great nation, and famous for their skill as archers ; they now manufacture and sell the fermented juice of the date and t&r palms. In the North-Western Provinces tlu'v arc hugely employed as watchmen. (7.) JKisadii, 77,927 in number. Colonel Dalton gives the SEMI-HINDUISED ABORIGINES. 199 following account of this caste : — " The Dosadhs are another type of a low-caste tribe, living freely, and, according to Hindu notions, impurely, but apparently rather of Aryan than Turanian origin. The men, who are of strong build, and as tall as the average Hindu, have coarse features, but with nothing of the Chinese or Negro about them. They have adopted the worship of the demon Rdhu, who is supposed to cause eclipses by his periodical attacks on the sun and moon, in revenge for having had his head cut off by Vishnu. The Dosddhs not only adore him, but claim to be his descendants — their upper class from Rdhu and his wife, and their second class from Ri.hu and his wife's femme de chambrc. Their mode of worshipping their founder is as demoniacal as he could wish. The faithful ascend ladders formed of sword-blades, so placed as to bring the sharp edge in contact with the sole of each foot, pressing as it ascends ; and they afterwards walk through a ditch filled with blazing faggots, on which oil or ghi is poured to intensify the heat, with no injury. The Dosadhs aspire to higher employment than the Ghas(s and Donis. They serve as village watchmen, and sometimes as police and as court runners. They, too, like the Doms, started a reformer some three or four years ago ; but after a year's trial of abstinence, they came to the conclusion that it did not suit them, and relapsed." (8.) RajwArs, 4451 in number; only found in the Arrah and Sasseram Subdivisions. They bear a bad character as thieves and highway robbers. Their principal home is io the Nawadd Sub division of Gayd District. (9.) Gandharb, 173 in number; the ordinary Hindu prostitute caste. They are found in the town of Arrah, and in the thdnds of Dumrdon and Bhabud with Chind. (10.) Pawariya, 18 in number; mostly found in thdnd Dumrdon. (11.) Ramjani, 29 in number. (12.) Kishanpachchi, 33 in number; mostly in Arrah Sub division. They do not, strictly speaking, constitute a distinct caste, the name being applied to the sons of the higher classes by women of low caste. (13.) BhOiya, 334 in number; mostly in thdnd Dumrdon of the Baxar Subdivision. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton calls them Bhungiyds, and considers them to be remains of the armies of Jardsindhu. Colonel Dalton adopts as probable the theory of Sir G. Campbell, that they are connected with the Buis of Madras and the Central Provinces. (14.) Bagdi, 2 in number; in the town of Arrah. (15.) Baurf, 334 2oo STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. in number; are all found in fhdnd Bhabud. Colonel Dalton conceives that these two tribes are the remnant of an aboriginal race wbo in termarried with low-caste Hindus, and thus effaced their primitive features. They have some curious customs. If they kill a dog or heron, they are excluded from caste. The men carry pdlkis, and both sexes hire themselves out as day-labourers. (16.) Gangaunta, 272 in number. According to Mr. Magrath, they live on didrds and chars, which they gradually bring into culti vation ; but in Shahdbad District they are only found in thd,ids Sdsseram and Bhabua, either of which is forty miles from any didrd. (17.) HArI, 22 in number; mostly in thdnd Chausa, are a scavenger caste. (18.) Markande, 6 in number ; all in ihdni Bhabui, are a semi- civilised set of cultivators. (19.) Mihtar, 3281 in number; most numerous in the Bhabud Subdivision. This name includes all the sweeper castes, such as Bhangf, &c. (20.) ChamAr, 91,777 in number; the tanners of the country. The skin of every cow dying within the village is their perquisite. The principal subdivisions found in Shdhdbdd are Gorfa, Jeswarfd, Majroth, DhusM, and Kanaujiya. The Chamdr goes round with the drum and posts up village notices, while his wife acts as the village midwife (Chamdfn). According to the old Hindu books, they are descended from a Mdlld or boatman father and a Chanddl mother. (21.) Dom, 4675 in number; one of the lowest of castes. The subdivisions found in Shahdbad District are Bansphors, who con fine themselves to basket-making. The Dom is rarely seen working in the fields, but kills dogs and removes bodies. Sometimes he is the public executioner. In his habits he is as impure as the Ghdsfs — the parasites of the Central Indian hill tribes. Castes and Tribes not mentioned in the Census Report : — (1.) JulAha, a weaver caste. Those who live in the larger towns are better off than their brethren in the country. Mr. Eyre divides them into three classes : — Those who trade but do not weave ; those who weave daris, and are known as kolinhof; and those who weave -the common country cloth, and are called nodrhofs — the Juldhds proper. The material they use is cotton, about one quarter of which is produced in the District. The seed is separated from the fibre by Chamars employed by the producer, and paid in kind. The producer either allows them one-third of the seed, RELIGIOUS DIVISION OF THE PEOPLE. 201 retaining two-thirds himself for seed and cattle food, or he supplies the daily meal of his workmen. Women spin the cotton into thread. The stock of a kolinhof is — one pdnjd or comb, value 8 dnnds (is.) ; one knife, 2 dnttds (3d.); one pair of scissors, 4 dnnds (6d.) ; one wooden frame, 6 dnnds (ad.) ; and rope, 2 dnnds (3d.): total value, R. 1-6 (2s. od.). The net profits of a loom are returned by Mr. Eyre at Rs. 7-2 (14s. 3d.). The kolinhofs live frugally, and though they pay mohtarfd (a kind of cess) to the zaminddrs, earn on the whole a fair livelihood. The stock-in-trade of the Joldhd proper costs Rs. 2-3 (4s. 4^d.). They live entirely by their looms, and hold no land. The zaminddrs used to employ them as customary porters, but the practice has recently been resisted. (2.) SangtarAsh, or stone-cutters. There is a large demand in the District for stone for building purposes, mills and curry-stones ; and as the Sangtar&h are comparatively few, they are as a rule well-to-do. They earn on an average from 6 dnnds (ad.) to R. 1 (2s.) per diem. (3.) SAbangar, or soap-boilers. They reside in Srfsserdm town, and receive an average monthly wage of Rs. 10 (£i). (4.) KharAdhl These people make combs, platters, and toys from various jungle woods. Their wares are in great demand, and they earn about Rs. 7 (14s.) per month. The Religious Division of the People adopted in the Census Report is into Hindus, Muhammadans, Christians, and a variety of petty sects described under the heading of "Others." As already stated, the population of Shdhdbdd District amounts to 1,723,974 persons: 835,374 males and 888,600 females. Of these, 772,923 males and 817,720 females are Hindus, who form 92-2 per cent. of the total population. The Muhammadans number 62,060 males and 70,611 females; total 132,671, or 7-6 per cent. of the total popu lation. No Buddhists are found in the District. The Christians number 289 males and 172 females; total 461, or -2 of the total population. The remaining 199 — 102 males and 97 females — belong to a number of petty sects not classified according to religion. The Muhammadans of Shdhdbdd are relatively less numerous than in any other District in Behar, forming only 7 -6 per cent. of the total population, a result hardly to be expected considering the strong footing they acquired in the south of the District. There, however, the proportion is higher, being 87 in the whole Sdsseram Subdivision, rising to 117 in the thdnd of Sasserdm, and 409 in the town itself. In the Census Report, the Musulmans are not enumerated 2C2 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. according to their professions or trade ; but among them are (1.) the Juldha, or weaver caste, who probably became Musulmans on account of the low estimation they were held in by Hindus; (2.) Dhuniyd, cotton-carder ; (3.) Dhobf, washerman ; (4.) Gadf, cow- keeper ; (5.) Darzf, tailor; (6.) Chile, or Kasdi, butcher; (7.) Mirshikar, hunter; (8.) Muchf, shoemaker; (9.) Nalband, farmer; and (10.) Ldlbegf, sweeper. The following is the classification of the Census Report : — (1.) PathAn, 7585 in number. According to Mr. Eyre, they are descendants of the court and household of the Emperor Sher Shdh. But it is remarkable that they are most numerous in thdnd Dhungaon, and not in Sdsseram. (2.) Mughul, 357 in number ; the descendants of the followers of the Tartar conquerors of India. (3.) Sayyid, 1610 in number; they claim descent from the Prophet. The two chief families in this District are the Sayyids of Tilothu on the S6n, called Irdkfs, who are descendants of Persian merchants ; and the Sayyids of Kuth, who originally came from a village near Agrd, about two centuries ago, and obtained lands in Shdhdbad. (4.) Shaikh, 13,207 in number; most numerous in the Sub divisions of Arrah and Sdsserdm. Town Population. — The Census Report thus classifies the towns and villages of Shahabdd :— There are 2687 villages of less than 200 inhabitants; 1509 contain from 200 to 500; 619 small towns from 500 to 1000 ; 227 from 1000 to 2000; 48 from 2000 to 3000 ; 9 from 3000 to 4000 ; 3 from 4000 to 5000 ; 2 from 5000 to 6000 ; 2 from 6000 to 10,000; 1 from 10,000 to 15,000 ; 1 from 15,000 to 20,000 ; 2 from 20,000 to 50,000. The table on the following page, which has been compiled from the District Census Compilation, exhibits in a comparative form the statistics of the eight towns in the District which contain over 5003 inhabitants. Many of these, however, are not really towns, but merely municipal aggregations of rural villages. The following towns contain between 2000 and 5000 inhabitants : — (1.) Sinhd, pop., 2664 ; (2.) Gondf, pop., 2760 ; (3.)Sakardf, pop., 2224; (4.) Adwantnagar, pop., 2717; (5.) Bdlaur, pop., 2986; (6.) Aktiarpur, pop., 2062; (7.) Sahsram, pop., 2052; (8.) Sdbdlpur Bdbura\ pop., 2840; (9.) Karf Sath, pop., 2557; (10.) Nawdda, pop., 2409 ; (11.) Barsauni, pop., 2856 ; (12.) Bindaulia, pop., 2283 ; (13.) Kathia, pop., 2135 ; (14.) Balgaon, pop., 2192; (15) Barndon TOWN POPULA 7 1ON. 203 Khds, pop., 2806; (16.) Jangal Dawd, pop., 2381; (17.) Dulfpur, pop., 2688; (18.) Dwdkhds, pop., 2186 j (19.) Hatampur, pop., 2088; (20.) Air, pop., 3454 J (21.) Shdhpur, pop., 3892; (22) Nainijor, pop., 4123; (23.) Ekwdrf, pop., 2661; (24.) Bargaon, pop., 2272 ; (25.) Garhdnf, pop., 2025 ; (26.) Bihta, pop., 2293 ; (27.) Sapdhf, pop., 2516; (28.) Brdhpur, pop., 3143 ; (29.) Durmrf, pop., 3561 ; (30.) Rdjpur, pop, 2367 ; (31.) Sdkmer, pop, 2750 ; (32.) Sdrd Tam, pop., 2059 ; (33.) Bampatf, pop., 2029 ; (34.) Nayd Bdzdr, pop, 3322; (35.) Mosod, pop, 2095 ; (36.) Dhakayd Kaldn, pop., 2111 ; (37.) Bhojpur Jadid,pop., 3890; (38.) Bhojpur Kadim, pop, 3114; (39.) Raghundthpur, pop, 2835,- (40.) Nimaij, pop, 2428; (41.) Bagand, pop., 2841 ; (42.) Bardon, pop., 2576; (43.) Oriwdn, pop, 3279; C44.) Mithild, pop., 3010; (45.) Kurand, pop, 2353; (46.) Kesat, pop., 3169 ; (47.) Bhddarf, pop., 2263; (48.) Karsand, pop., 2010; (49.) Chitamanpur, pop., 2609; (50.) Nokhd, pop., 2201 ; (51.) Ndsriganj, pop, 2218; (52.) Harfharganj, pop, 2218; (53.) Kodsd, or Kodth, pop., 4726; (54.) Pdrinawdl, pop., 2198; (55.) Surajpurd, pop., 2734 ; (56.) Ekldspur, pop., 2441 ; (57.) Jahdndbdd, pop., 2862 ; (58.) Chainpur, pop., 4029 ; (59.) Mokrf, pop., 2879. The following account of the towns and places of historical in terest in Shdhdbad District has been principally compiled from Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton's " Account of the District of Shdhdbdd," condensed in Montgomery Martin's "Eastern India," vol. i. Some information has also been obtained from General Cunningham's " Archaeological Reports." Statistics of Towns in ShAhAbAd District containing more than 5000 Inhabitants. c Population. 1 "3 . k 18 i i B . i •a S3 3 S Nau*s op Area. J V 5.5 m O. 0 ,- Towns. 1-3 0 £ * X 3 u O 0 PS A. X. P. £ 'd. s. d. 6,403 2 28 28.435 10,866 83 2 39.38" 1271 0 0 1068 8 0 3,136 2 32 I2,4'3 8,609 21,033 942 6 0 816 6 0 0° IOf 7A 3.393 3 1° 14,176 3.«7« 2 17.356 340 12 O 375 16 0 0 4l Baxar 1.789 3 35 9.829 3r423 13.446 408 2 O 398 14 0 0 7« 3,246 0 0 7.7'3 1.678 9 9,400 IO4 l6 O 84 40 O 2i 2,740 2 27 5.427 J.577 7,004 IOO 12 O 109 12 0 0 3l 2,167 1 1 4.239 1,466 IO i7 5.732 93 0 O 79 6 0 0 3. Bhabua 628 0 0 3.849 1,221 I 5,071 153 14 O 131 8 0 0 7i Total... 23.505 0 13 86,081 I 32,018 191 28 118,418 3413 2 O 3063 14 O 0 61 204 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. Arrah, the administrative headquarters of the District, is situated in 840 43' 10" east longitude, and 25° 33' 35" north latitude, about 14 miles south of the Ganges and 8 miles west of the S6n. The population in 1872 was returned at 39,386 persons, thus classified : — Hindus — males, 14,405; females, 14,030: total Hindus, 28,435. Muhammadans — males, 491 1; females, 5955 : total Muhammadans, 10,866. Christians — males, 48; females, 35: total Christians, 83. "Others" — males, none; females, 2: total "Others," 2. Arrah has been formed into a municipality. In 1872 the municipal in come was ^1271, and the expenditure, ^1068; the incidence of municipal taxation being 7 id. per head. The town is fairly built, and runs principally from east to west. There is a jail, dispensary, and the other usual buildings of a Civil Station, which deserve no special mention. A full description of the heroic defence of Arrah during the Mutiny of 1857 will be given on a subsequent page. To the north of the town lie the lowlands, marking the old bed of the Ganges, which are annually inundated during the rains. The name Arrah, properly spelt Arah, is said by some pandits to be derived from the Sanskrit aranya or waste, the name given by the five sons of Pandu when Arrah was a forest. They are said to have married Draupadf at this place. General Cunningham, how ever, shows from an inscription in a temple of Masar that the original name of Arrah was Aramnagar. BaxAr, the headquarters of the Subdivision of the same name, is situated in 840 1' east longitude, and 250 34' 30" north lati tude, on the south bank of the Ganges. The population in 1872 was returned at 13,446 persons, thus classified: — Hindus — males, 4863 ; females, 4966 : total, 9829. Muhammadans — males, 1721 ; females, 1702: total, 3423. Christians — males, 117; females, 77: total, 194. " Others," none. The Christians consist principally of the railway employes. Baxar has been formed into a municipality. In 1872 the municipal income was ^408, 2s., and the expenditure, ^398, 14s. ; the incidence of municipal taxation being 7^d. per head. Baxar is a changing station for engines on the East Indian Railway. Formerly it was a stud depot, but all stud operations have recently been closed. It is a purely Brdhmanical site, and great sanctity attaches to it. There are two accounts of the origin of the name. One is that it was originally called Vedagarbha, i.e., the womb or origin of the Vedds, as many of the holy men resided here who were authors of the Vedic hymns. The second legend is that TOWNS: SASSERAM. 205 near the temple of Gaurfsankar there is a pukhur or holy tank, now called baghsar, originally ayhsar or effacer of sin. A rishi or sage, called Bedsira, having transformed himself into a tiger to frighten the rishi Darvdsii, was doomed by the latter to retain that form for ever. But by bathing in the holy tank of ayhsar at Vedagarbha, and then worshipping Gaurfsankar, he was restored to his original shape; and the spot was called Vyaghras or Baghsar, i.e., tiger tank. The place, according to General Cunningham, teems with ancient names, but there are no remains of antiquity. It was here that Sir Hector Munro defeated Kasfm Alf, the last independent Nawdb of Mushidabdd, on October 22, 1764, in a battle which finally won the Lower Provinces of Bengal for the British. SAsserAm, the headquarters of the Subdivision of that name, situated in 840 3' 25" east longitude, and 240 56' 58" north latitude, on the Grand Trunk Road, is principally noted as containing the tomb of the Pathdn Sher Shall, who conquered Humayun, and subsequently became Emperor of Dehli. The name Sasseram, or Sahsram, signifies one thousand toys or playthings, because a cer tain Asur, or infidel, who lived here had a thousand arms, in each of which was a separate plaything. The population in 1872 numbered 21,023 persons, thus classified: — Hindus — males, 5883; females, 6530: total Hindus, 12,431. Muhammadans — males, 3212; females, 5397: total Muhammadans, 8609. Chris tians — male 1 ; " Others," none. The Muhammadans thus form 40-9 of the population in this city, against 7-6 in the District generally. The Pathdns of S£sseram, who are descendants of officers of the court and household of Sher Shdh, are now much impoverished. Sdsserdm has been formed into a municipality. In 1872 the municipal income was ^942, 6s., and the expenditure, ^816, 6s. ; the incidence of municipal taxation being iojd. per head. The town lies about sixty miles south of Arrah, and commands a fine view of the northern escarpment of the Kaimur Hills, two miles distant to the south. It is about a mile in diameter, and is closely built ; but though kept fairly clean, it is a fast declining place. The most conspicuous objects are the tombs of Sher Shdh and his father, which are visible from a great distance. It possesses a dispensary and a good stone market. The latter building belongs to the muni cipality, and cost ^344, 18s. Sdsserdm is a somewhat important entrepot. Mr. Eyre, in his Administration Report for 1872-73, gives the following statistics, which, he says, have been carefully com 206 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. piled: — Imports, 95,698 maunds, valued at Rs. 198,553; exports, 35,253 maunds, valued at Rs. 66,603. Sher Shdh, the Pathdn Emperor of Dehli, was born at Sasse- ram, where his father, Husain Khan, had settled. The ruins of the house of the latter, which are still pointed out, show that he must have been a person of some position. In the centre of the town his son erected a tomb to his memory, which is still almost entire, in the same style as his own mausoleum, described below. It stands in a large courtyard, enclosed by a high wall of cut stone, in the eastern face of which is a large gate, the mosque, facing the west. The tomb consists of a lofty hall, surrounded by an arcade of three Gothic arches on each side, surmounted by a large dome. The arcade is covered with plaster, much orna mented and engraved with sacred sentences. There are no cupolas at its corners, but each side is crowned by three small domes ; nor are there any windows in the second story. The great dome springs immediately from the roof, and the summit is capped by various mouldings. The Mausoleum of Sher Shah is situated at the west end of the town, within a large tank, the excavated earth of which has been thrown into unshapely banks some distance off. A stair, composed of a few incomplete steps, leads down to the water, while a broken bridge connects the northern side with the tomb. For some distance the island rises with rude steps, crowned by a terrace faced with stone 30 feet high, which is placed obliquely to the sides of the tank. At its corners are four octagonal buildings which have a heavy effect outside, but viewed from within form neat and airy apartments. On each side are two balconies covered by cupolas. The tomb itself consists of a large octagonal hall, surrounded by an arcade which forms a gallery. Each side of the octagon consists of three Gothic arches below, from which springs a second story, also octagonal, and 25 feet high. The roof consists of three alcoves, and is supported by four Gothic arches, above which is a level ter race forming the first story, about 35| feet high; 6J feet of this height is occupied by a very heavy balustrade and parapet. The terrace is 15 feet wide, and has a small cupola supported by six rude columns at each corner. The second stage consists of a plain wall with a cornice, surmounted by a low parapet. On the top is a small terrace 9 feet 10 inches wide, having at each corner a cupola similar to those below. Above the second stage, the outside of SHER SHAH'S MAUSOLEUM. 207 the building rises perpendicularly, with a third stage of 16 sides, 11 feet high. There is a kind of false balustrade, from which a nearly hemispherical dome arises. On its summit, again, is a small cupola supported by four pillars. The interior of the building forms an octagon, the sides of which are 54 feet at the base ; the thickness of the outer wall is 6 feet, and of the gallery 10 feet. Each inner side of the gallery is divided into three others by an equal number of arches. In the central arch of seven sides there is a door. The inner wall, which bounds the cen tral hall, is 15 feet thick at the ground, forming an inside octagon, each side of which is 41^ feet long. The most westerly side is inscribed with sacred sentences, and in the centre with the name of Allah. The great hall ascends as an octagon for about 27 feet, or as high as the terrace above the first stage on the outside, where there is a small rude cornice ; above this level each side of the octa gon divides into two, and contains a window of stone fretwork. For about 25 feet, the wall ascends with 16 sides, which then subdivide into 32 for a height of 1 1 feet further, where the dome springs. In the centre of each dome hangs a chabj probably used for lamps. The king's tomb lies in the centre of the hall opposite the niche for prayer, with the right hand towards Mecca ; it is raised six inches from the floor, and consists of plain plaster, but is distinguished from the other graves by a small column at the head. The inside is fairly lighted, but the ornaments are in the very worst taste. The stones are irregularly cut, and as irregularly placed ; and the balus trades have been painted with gaudy and glaring colours. An endowment was left for the support of the tomb; but the Mughul Emperors resumed the lands, and the place has long been neglected. About half-a-mile to the north-west of Sher Shdh's tomb is situ ated the unfinished tomb of his nephew Selim, also in an artificial tank. If completed, this would doubtless have been on the same plan as the tomb already described. What remains is an octagonal- shaped building, about 10 or 15 feet high, with some of the arches turned. The banks of the tank have been thrown to a farther distance, and slope gradually to. the stairs. The island is about 10 feet above the water, with a stair extending along the whole length. At each corner is an octagonal projection, connected with the island by a narrow passage. The niche for prayer is not so pro fusely carved as in Sher Shdh's tomb ; and there are no inscriptions, -r — .r- ~T I.~ —---'K4D DISTRICT. . which occties s itt — -—'— — t- af Selim. On is lei x a gmaTW sii*. the t i-rh, mfldy bsut of usii = r=-" r z=' icm jsr=ai». and 84" 22' 25* r i T3_: -ml- i-3L rT£ 5cc -rr the Koelwir-Dehri _tt -»tt= p-.;::if ; zz. zi-z sz 373-2 persons, this — -7211=5. - r H-jliV-^ 1*55 r TTTCal HmduS, :zs — irx-s. — r- T-;;.."i-g 75; : total Mnbam- --n^ns — TTTT.r^ ^ - T-gr r^ t : rxal Christians. r^j^ — T°nrr,r-s r: rd -Others," 17. ir=-^ n~ z unmc-Tii-j. Ir 1 5 72 the nnmic- . r: . ri =rac:uirTj-i. ^J~i. es_: its^t taxation -=- — - urns zz\c r-TtT-r," t^w; of rbe escheatei ri ihi jLas-z. ?;crs;t. Ir 5 also the sea: of a ■>, - ir.'TTv- u Jur Errs, x injected in 1872-73 ;- Kjsrss. ~ -?*■ —33. *..\.nrj. Tae -jrn.-TrgI expans are bam- . x-_ w- -_ j^ hr= 3 :nc ra*c an: nt Tie hrrr of the Son, is -. -— z. ~t~" .; .:• :-m. ~— * titt-- rr TT* — mTrfarrmv of _.^»- *~^r-~ x— rflerr*-sie "-'""■"•' u — *-• id ib; trade is now . r»:r^: "3 ~c zzvzr.azjia. 1 ne iaer S-zrzzajrar arzic.e. >:i__: TJ -c^rr rh^a irr'-r*^ ttjl.' 'nlMC^g* in the two __ jj^ r-r^^ES tx rite T^i^TTsix: of thisarae name, is _ ,- =- ;;" ■-^■a- i-Trj-rDie. raf 25 * 2' 30* latitude, about " "*. ^ Z^xx — s -ianc Tmk 5_3ai The population was . i j;- ^-2 Ti-Tscns. ±ris <->•<-." :rrf : — Hindus — males, '^__ _ ^, . -^ "-i^rr^ jSrj : Jfchamniicans — males, ■re -x— c 1221. Christians — male, t. - Orieis,' none. Bhabua has In 1S72 the municipal income r-, £151. 8s.; average taxation *=-• v"-' ' ~ "* - _ ~ c— rr-d en the west bank of the Son, at J,. Gsxtc T:tt± Road. It has recendy be- --- - ^ _ :-~-m— »-*- bavins been chosen as the site --.-c * "-*— - ^"j^-c Casals, and of workshops designed v K*r*JCf* fLrt-jT r^e rarioos works in stone, wood, and ROHTASGARH. 209 iron, which are scattered over the Canal System. Work was begun in 1869 by the construction of a tramway to Dhodhand lime quarries, whence the stone for the anicut was brought. An account of that work has already been given. The workshops were designed and built by Mr. Fouracresin 1869-70. They are substantial stone buildings with iron roofs ; and embrace a foundry, sawmill, black smith's shop, carpenter's shop, fitting shop, and a boat-yard. These turn out all the wood and iron work required in the canals, and also take orders for private parties. A cement factory is attached. One of the principal features in connection with the workshops is the Dehrf training school, opened in 1872, the object of which is to recruit the upper subordinate establishments of the Public Works Department. European, Eurasian, and native lads from 14 to 17 years of age are taken as indentured apprentices. They receive practical instruction in the workshops, and spend a cer tain proportion of their time at school. They are supplied with a free lodging, and also with a subsistence allowance from Govern ment. Every year, twelve Europeans and seven natives are admitted. At Dehrf, the Grand Trunk Road crosses the broad sandy bed of the Son on a stone causeway about two and a half miles long. The bdzdrs are comparatively small. To the north is a large indigo factory, the property of Messrs. Gisborne & Co. Places of Historical Interest — RohtAsgarh. — The principal place of interest in the District, from an antiquarian point of view, is the fort of Rohtas or Rohtdsgarh, so called from the young Prince Rohitaswa, son of Harischandra, king of the Sun, whose image was worshipped on the spot till destroyed by Aurangzeb. Little or nothing is known concerning the persons who held the fort from the time of Harischandra up to 1100 a.d., when it is supposed to have belonged to Pratap Dhawala, father of the last Hindu king. Sher Shall captured Rohtasgarh in 1539, and immediately began to strengthen the fortifications ; but the work had only slightly pro gressed, when he selected a more favourable site in the neighbour hood at Shergarh, which now bears his name, and of which an account will be subsequently given. Man Sinh, on being appointed viceroy of Bengal and Behar, selected Rohtas as his stronghold ; and, according to two inscriptions in Sanskrit and Persian, erected all the buildings now existing. They must therefore have been finished by 1654, or ten years after he became viceroy. When he died, the fortress was attached to the office of Wazlr of the Emperor, by whom VOL. XII. N 2io STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAH AB AD DISTRICT. the governors were appointed. In 1644, the governor of Rohtasgarh protected Shdh Jahdn's family when that prince was in rebellion against his father. The fort was immediately under an officer known as a kildddr, who defrayed all expenses from the revenues of the following estates : — Chainpur, Sdsserdm, Kerd, Mongaraur, Siris, Katambd, Dagal, Chargangd, Japld, Belaunjeh, Vijayagar, Akbarpur, Tilothu, and Paldmau. These estates, which lie partly in Shdhdbdd District and partly in Chutia Ndgpur and Mirzdpur, were managed by a special diwdn. A guard of 400 or 500 men was granted for the protection of the fort ; in addition to which there was the regular military garrison, commanded by an officer known as the hazdri or commander of 1000 men. This post, which was hereditary, was held originally by Rajputs ; but in i8iothe holders were Muhamma- dans. The garrison were natives of the fortress, whose families, contrary to rule, occupied a small town near the fort. Besides these, there were about 4000 matchlock men, whose duties consisted in guarding different parts of the plateau. After the defeat of Mfr Kasfm at Udhandld (Oodeynullah) in 1764, he despatched his wife with 1700 other women and children, and much treasure, to Rohtas, under the care of Laid Nobat Rdi, who soon died, leaving his charge under the care of Shdh Mall. On Mfr Kasfm's final defeat at Baxdr, Shdh Mall sent the chief wife of the Nawdb to join her husband, and she took with her most of the jewels and gold. Mfr Kasfm wrote to the diwdn advising him to give up the fort to the English, which was at once done. Colonel Goddard took possession, and remained there for about two months, destroying meanwhile all military stores ; after which a native guard remained for one year, when the place was finally abandoned. The palace was then in good repair, though some temporary buildings had suffered a good deal of mischief. The remains of the fortress now occupy a part of the tableland, about four miles from east to west, and five miles from north to south, with a circumference of nearly twenty-eight miles. Much of the area is bare rock, but there is a large quantity of red soil. It is sepa rated from- the tableland on the north by a deep and wide recess, called Kariyarf Kho, a branch of which — Galariyd Kho — also separ ates it from the tableland to the west, leaving between its south end and the rock overhanging the S6n, a rocky peninsula or neck about 200 yards wide, with perpendicular sides. There are about eighty- three paths up the rock accessible to men. Three of these, and the rocky neck just mentioned, are called the four great ghdts, while the ROHTASGARH. 211 remaining eighty are called ghdtis. *Kd)dghdt is the most easily acces sible, but is still a very steep and long ascent. The most exposed part of the fortress is at a spot called Kathotid, which joins it to the tableland, and through which a ditch was begun to be dug, but was stopped, owing to blood having issued from a particular stone, which the Hindus now worship. To the east side of this are some strong works. Two gates defend the north side of the rock which is here low and level ; and within these, again, are traverses, commanded by a small fort which rises from an adjacent hill. A close inspection shows, however, that they are weak and utterly unsuited for the many guns the fortress contains. Of the buildings that these fortifications were intended to defend, but little remains which can be attributed to the Hindus. Close by the palace are three old tanks named after Ben Rdjd, Gaur Rdjd, and Chandrabhan. It has been thought that these persons were Brdh- mans, from the last of whom Sher Shdh took the place, but this hypothesis is rendered doubtful by the inscription at Bandu ghdt. On the south-east corner of the plateau is an old temple of Rohi- t.lswa, called Chauri, where his image was worshipped until de stroyed by Aurangzeb. It is situated on a steep peak, commanding a magnificent view of the country beyond the S6n. A stair leads to the summit, the steps of which, being entire, cannot be much older than the time of Mdn Sinh ; but the temple is certainly much older. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton, judging from the various sculptures, refers it to the three Rdjds who dug the tanks — probably about the tenth or eleventh century. Behind it is a small mosque, ascribed to Aurang zeb. At the foot of the stair again, is a small but handsome temple, universally attributed to Mdn Sinh. The image in this was also re moved by Aurangzeb. A large and shapeless heap of stones, about 20 feet high, is supposed to be the oldest ruin in the whole place. Within the gate at Rrijd ghdt, there must have been a very consider able building, which is thought to have formed the private residence of the commander. In it are two temples, both attributed to Mdn Sinh. One of them is exceedingly handsome, being covered by a dome, which surpasses in lightness all the Hindu works that Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton had ever seen. The other is small, and dedi cated to some Tirthankara of the Jains. The palace, or mahdl sardi, extends from north to south, and has its principal front to the west. It is irregularly built, without any architectural pretensions. Perhaps the most elegant part in the 212 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. whole is the door — a large Gothic arch, with the figure of an elephant on each side. Inside is another arch of equal dimensions, leading into the guard-room, one of the best proportioned parts of the whole building. Its roof is plastered in the alcove lorm, with many small compartments similar to the stone roof in English cathedrals. The building where business was transacted is, perhaps, the most tastefully designed of all. It is known as the bard dwdri, or twelve gates, and gives its name to the square in front. In front is an open hall supported by four double columns. The hall within the colonnade was occupied by clerks. Shergarh, situated twenty miles south-west of Sasserdm, is now a mass of ruins. Its appearance from below is much stronger than that of Rohtis, as the rock on the top is surrounded by a rampart, and the monotony of the general outline is broken by bastions and turrets. The ascent to the principal gate on the north has been a broad but irregular stair, winding with short zig-zags. Dr. Buchanan- Hamilton says that the zendnd-khdnd forms a long castle on the summit of the small hill on the south side of the fort, which when viewed from the north, resembles Durham Castle. Shergarh was selected by Sher Shall soon after he had begun strengthening Rohtas, which he abandoned on discovering the superior advantages of the former. ChAinpur, population 4029, situated about five miles west of the Subdivisional town of Bhabud, commands an exquisite view of hill and plain. It was formerly the residence of an important Hindu Rajd, but it was subsequently occupied by certain Pathdns, and became a favourite residence of Sher Shdh's family. In the neighbourhood are many of their monuments and tombs. The proper name of Champur is said to be Chandpur, derived from a person called Chandu, brother of a Cheni Rajd, who is supposed to have lived here. A small temple situated about five miles east from the town is still called Mandeswarf, after this Rdji. The fort of Chiinpur is surrounded by a ditch, and defended by a stone rampart flanked with bastions ; it has a large gate in the northern curtain, and a smaller one in the southern. The space within is covered with buildings, partly of brick and partly of stone, with several large wells lined with the latter material. The following is the legendary history of this place : There was a certain Manda who had a brother named Chandu, both of whom CHAIN PUR. 213 lived in the golden age. They were the principal military officers of Sambhu and Nisambhd, two great infidel kings, and were killed by Parvati, hence called Chamundd. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton conjec tures that Manda was a Chertf chief, who retained a small princi pality long after his tribe had been expelled. The town where he resided was Garohit, situated on the banks of the Katane, in the eastern mouth of the valley between the great mass and the detached range of hills west from Bhagwdnpur. The whole of the valley was originally called Mukeri Kho. From numerous heaps of bricks, Gdrohat is conjectured to have been one and a half miles from east to west, and half a mile from north to south. Some frag ments of images, called Hanumdn, have been found on a small eminence, but none bear the slightest resemblance to a monkey. Three of them closely resemble the Ganesd, Hangaurf, and Nardyan images, so commonly met with in Cheni remains. This identification is strengthened by the fact that many works attributed to the Cheriis extend along the north side of the detached hills, both east and west from Gdrohdt, where they have also left several tanks, reservoirs, and some images. The temple of Mandeswari, already referred to, is the most remarkable of all the works at Gdrohdt. It is now in ruins, but enough remains to show that it was an octagon supported by four columns of an order common in Behar. In its centre is a linga of Siva, with four human faces on it. The image known as Man deswari, or goddess of Manda — an armed female with many hands riding on a buffalo — probably represents the wife of Mahisdsur, a celebrated antagonist of Parvati. The hair and ears resemble those of Buddha. The door on the temple is covered with figures repre senting dancers, musicians, &c. The Rajas of Chdinpur pretend that they expelled the Cheriis, but the history of this place is most complicated and obscure. They also say, that not only the greater part of Shahabad, but also a considerable piece of Bendres, was included in their dominions. The first member of the family who really attained any position was called Sarivahan. The last of the line was destroyed by the im precations of his pandit, Harshii Pangrf, who died in sitting dharnd on the Raja. His memory is now specially revered in the neigh bourhood. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton concludes that the Chdinpur Rajas became refractory, and that their fortress was destroyed by the Muhammadans, who settled a colony of Pathans in the place about 250 years ago. Shortly afterwards, Bhagwan, Raja of Chdin 214 STA TIST1CAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. pur, retired to the banks of Sura, where he built a town and called it by his own name. The claim of the Chdinpur family to be pure Rajputs is generally admitted, and one of them is connected by marriage with the Rajd of Bhojpur. The present landholders are Musalmdns. Among the Pathdns of Chdinpur was one named Ikhtiyar Khdn, whose eldest son, Fathi Khan, married a daughter of Sher Shdh. He is buried in a tomb, little, if at all, inferior to the tomb of the king's father, and in much better condition. The inside is an octagon of 53 feet in the shorter diameter. The wall around the niche for prayer has been plastered, and covered with sacred quotations in black. It is 12 feet thick. The gallery around is 9 feet wide, and the buttresses 6 feet square. The style of the building is similar to that of the tomb of Husdm Khdn at Sasserdm. There are a number of trees planted about the spot, and the situation has been selected with great taste. DarAuTf, five miles north-east from Rdmgarh, contains some old remains attributed to the Suars or Sivirds, the principal of which is a large tank, a little more than three-quarters of a mile long, but not nearly so broad. At the west end is a smaller tank, said to have been dug by a Muhammadan from DehlL There are also some images and obelisks. From the style of the whole works, Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton concluded the Chenis had a temple here, which the Suars destroyed ; and that the obelisks were probably erected to commemorate its destruction. Baidyanath contains a ruin attributed to Rajd Mddan Pdl, the Sivird. There are many images and obelisks, and one inscription on the shaft of a column contains the figures 700, attached to a name. From this inscription Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton inferred that the date of Mddan Pdl was about 643 a.d., a date corresponding very closely with the epoch assigned to the Sivira rule. No worship is now carried on here. Masar, a village situated a little to the south of the railway about six miles west of Arrah, has been identified with Mo-ho-so-lo of the Chinese pilgrim Hiouen Thsang. Its old name, as proved by seven inscriptions in the Jain temple of Pdrasndth, was Mahdsard ; but the original name was Sonitpur, famous as the residence of Bandsar, whose daughter Ukha was married to a grandson of Krishna. The town of Masdr, according to General Cunningham, was originally called Padmavatiputra, till a Jain Kshattriya of Mdrwar, named Vimalandtha, became proprietor, when its name was changed to CHAUSA. 215 Mahsard. From the language of the Chinese pilgrim, Masar must have been close to the Ganges, which now flows nine miles to the north. There are clear traces, however, in the neighbourhood of the high bank of the old Ganges or lianas, whicli runs strongly defined past Bihiyd, Masdr, and Arrah. Immediately west of the village and close to the railway is a heap of mud and bricks extending about fifty yards each way. When Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton visited the spot, he found the head and shoulders projecting of an image larger than human size, which he dug out and found to be one of the usual idols of a Buddhist temple. He conjectured that the ruins are the work of Chenis. There is also a Jain temple here, with a number of Brdhmanical images. It is small and poor, and bears an inscription, dated Samvat 1443 or a.d. 1386, in which Shdhdbdd is identified with Kdrusha-Desa, while Arrah appears as Aramnagar. The village is half a mile long by one-third broad, and contains fourteen fine old wells and several tanks. If the old town reached as far as the brick mound, it would probably have contained a popu lation of 20,000. ChausA is a village situated four miles west of Baxar, close to the east bank of the Karamnassa. The place is noteworthy as the scene of the defeat of the Emperor Humayun on the 26th June 1539 by the Pathan Sher Shdh. Humayun had only time to plunge into the Ganges on horseback ; and it would have fared hard with him but for the friendly assistance of a water-carrier, on whose massak or water-bag the Emperor was supported till he reached the opposite side. The water-carrier was afterwards rewarded by being permitted to sit for half a day on the throne, with absolute power. Near Tilothu on the S6n, where the Tutrdhf, a branch of the Kudra river, leaves the hills, is a holy place sacred to the goddess Totala. The gorge into which the stream falls is half a mile long, terminating in a sheer horse-shoe precipice, from 180 to 250 feet high, down which the river falls. The rock at first recedes at an angle of ioo° for about one-third of the height, and presents a stair-like appearance, showing clearly the various strata of which it is composed ; but above that, it overhangs, forming a re-entering angle. The object of interest is an image, said to have been placed here by the Chenis about eighteen centuries ago, which resembles the figures commonly met with in works attributed to them. The date on the image is Samvat 1389, or a.d. 1332. It consists of a 216 STATISTICAL ACCOUST OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. slab carved in relief, representing a many-armed female killing a man springing from the neck of a buffalo. It is on the highest part of the sloping rock immediately under the waterfall. Patana, situated in thdnd Bhabud, is noted as the capital city or nindaur of a Hindu Rdjd of the Suar or Sivird tribe. It is sometimes called Srfrdmpur, from a village of that name, which now occupies part of the ruins. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton considers it must have been the abode of the supreme ruler of the Suars. The chief ruin is a mass of rude stones, broken bricks, &c., 780 feet long from east to west, and 1080 feet from north to south. It is composed of five un equal masses, very irregular in height, but reaching in some parts 40 or 50 feet above the ground. There is no appearance of a ditch. East of this again is another mass of similar length, but of smaller height and breadth. Its south end is called the Chamdr Toll or shoemakers' quarters. North-east is the village called Patand or city. Under a tree near this is a linga surrounded by a wall and some broken images, the largest of which represents Mahdvfra, or the warlike monkey. North of Srfrdmpur, again, is another elevation, consisting of stones, bricks, and mud. To the south is a circular mound called Bdghban, which Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton considered to be the village rendezvous. Three of the tanks, though possess ing Hindu names, were probably dug by Muhammadans, as their greatest length is from east to west. The Sacred Cave of Guptasar is situated in a glen in the centre of the plateau, about seven miles from Shergarh. The entrance lies a little way up the hill, and is about 18 feet wide by 12 high. The sides and bottom of the interior are very uneven, with steep ascents and descents ; while masses of rock project irregularly from the sides. The first room extends almost due east from the mouth for about 120 yards, with steep descents at the end. The farther extremity is called Patal Gangd, or the River of the Pit ; but there is no river to be seen. About half-way, a branch leads off to the south-east, which, after running 90 feet or so, rejoins the main gallery. A narrow passage again leads from this into the west end of a second gallery similar to the first, and about 370 feet long. This latter, about 140 feet from its west end, is crossed at right angles by a similar gallery, the south arm of which is the largest, being 80 yards long. It contains the chief object of worship. Stalac tites are very numerous, and one of them is worshipped as the god THE MUTINY OF 1857. 217 Mahddeo. This cave has never been thoroughly explored, but the various windings are said to be fully half a mile long. The Mutiny in ShAhAbAd. — The following paragraphs, describ ing the events that took place in ShaMbdd District during the Mutiny of 1857, are condensed from Sir J. W. Kaye's History of the Sepoy War (vol. iii., 1876) : — The outbreak of the Sepoy regiments at Dinapur on the 25th July 1857, which has been described in the Statistical Account of Patna District (vol. xi. pp. 87-90), resulted in the flight of most of the mu tineers across the S6n into Shahdbid. This course was directed by two considerations. It is said that many of them had been recruited in this District ; and they found here a leader ready to put himself at their head. This was Kuar Sinh (Kooer Sing) of Jagdispur, a Rajput of much influence, nearly fourscore years of age, who had once owned large estates, but was now impoverished. As regards this man, Mr. Tayler, the Commissioner of Patna, had written in the middle of June expressive of his loyalty ; and again to the same effect a month later. The Magistrate, Mr. Wake, confirmed this opinion. But officers in other Districts reported that there were many influential zaminddrs eagerly watching his movements, and ready to follow him into rebellion. Mr. Tayler, therefore, invited him to Patna ; but this invitation was politely declined, on the plea of old age and bad health. At this time, the Kuar was in money difficulties, and was endeavouring to clear himself and save his estates by official aid. At a critical moment, however, Government withdrew its assistance, and the Kuar cast in his lot with the mutineers. The rebel army, consisting of about 2000 sepoys, and a multitude of armed insurgents perhaps four times as numerous, marched on Arrah. They reached the town on the 27th July, and forthwith released all the prisoners in the jail, and plundered the Treasury. The European women and children had already been sent away; but there remained in the town about a dozen Englishmen, official and non-official, and three or four other Christians of different races. Mr. Tayler had supplied a garrison of fifty Sikhs. This small force held out for a long eight days, until rescued by Major Vincent Eyre. The centre of defence had been wisely chosen. At this time, the East Indian Railway was under construction, under the local super intendence of Mr. Vicars Boyle, who, fortunately, had some knowledge of fortification. He occupied two houses, now known as the Judge's houses ; the smaller of which, a two-storied building, about twenty 2iS STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. yards from the main house, was fortified and provisioned. The lower windows, &c. were built up, and sand-bags ranged on the roof. When the news came that the Dinapur mutineers were streaming along the Arrah road, the Europeans and Sikhs retired to the smaller house. The mutineers, after pillaging the town, made straight for Mr. Boyle.s little fortress. A volley dispersed them, and forced them to seek the shelter of the larger house, only a few yards oft*, whence they carried on an almost continuous fire. They tried to burn or smoke out the little garrison, and attempted various other safe modes of attack ; but they had no guns. Kuar Sinh, how ever, produced two small cannon which he had dug up, and artillery missiles were improvised out of the house furniture. Within, there was no thought of surrender. Mr. Herwald Wake, the Magistrate, put himself in command of the Sikhs, who, though sorely tempted by their countrymen among the mutineers, remained faithful through out the siege. The miserable failure of a relieving party, who had proceeded by water from Dindpur, has been already described in the Statistical Account of Patnd District (vol. xi. pp. 87-90). It was headed by Captain Dunbar, and composed of 150 Europeans. Starting from Dinapur by steamer, they landed in Shahdbad, only to fall into an ambuscade between two and three miles from Arrah, and to be driven back in most disastrous retreat. As time passed away, and no help came, provisions and water began to run short. A bold midnight sally resulted in the capture of four sheep, while water was obtained by digging a well 18 feet deep inside the house. A mine of the enemy was met by counter mining. On the 2d August, however, the party inside the house observed an unusual excitement in the neighbourhood. The fire of the enemy had slackened, and but few of them were visible. The sound of a distant cannonade was heard ; before sunset the siege was at an end, and on the following morning the brave garrison welcomed their deliverers. Major Vincent Eyre of the Bengal Artillery, while steaming up the Ganges with his horse battery of six guns and a company of Euro pean gunners, touched at Baxar en route for Ghdzfpur, and heard that the Europeans at Arrah were besieged. He immediately landed, and taking with him 150 men of the 5th Fusileers, a few mounted volunteers, and three guns with 34 artillerymen, started for Arrah on the 30th July. Rain had been falling for some weeks, and the country was well-nigh impassable ; but after two days' hard THE MUTINY OF 1857. 219 marching he arrived at Bibfganj, where the enemy had destroyed a bridge over a deep stream, which forced him to make a flank movement to get clear of the railway embankment. Here he met the forces of Kuar Sinh, and after a sharp engagement dispersed them with a bayonet charge. They never rallied ; and Eyre marched straight into Arrah, where he arrived on the morning of the 3d August. Having rested his men, he determined to pursue the old Rajput to his residence amid the jungles. He was reinforced by 200 men of the 1 oth Foot, and 1 00 of Rattray's Sikhs. On the 1 1 th August he arrived before Jagdispur, where a vast amount of grain, &c, had been stored up by the rebel chief. After some jungle-fighting, the stronghold was captured ; the grain was redistributed among the villagers from whom it had been forcibly taken, and the principal buildings were blown up. Among these there was a Hindu temple, lately erected by Kuar Sinh, which was not exempted from the general fate. The Kuar himself had fled to Sasseram, with some mutineers of the 40th Regiment ; from that place he passed on to Banda, Cawnpur, and Lucknow. After some months' wanderings, he returned to Jag dispur mortally wounded by a shell, and died a few hours after his arrival. His property was confiscated ; and the Jagdispur jungle, in which his retainers lurked till October 1858, was finally cleared by the present proprietors of the Bihiya estate, and is now entirely cul tivated. Mr. Burrows, a contractor on the East Indian Railway, had been presented with the lease of the jungle, on condition that he cleared a certain portion within two years. More active measures, however, became necessary, and Government offered Rs. 6 (12s.) a bighd for land cleared by a certain date. With 4000 men at work, a broad path a half-mile wide was driven right through the jungle ; while minor gaps were cut at right angles, rendering the whole acces sible, and the further concealment of rebels impossible. While this operation was being effected, constant encounters took place between the coolies and the rebels, and the utmost care had to be exercised. Village Institutions. — The officials generally found in villages in Shahabad District are the jeth rayat and the patwdri. In the plateau to the south, the position of village headman is, to some extent, occupied by the baigd. The Jeth Rayat, or village headman, exists everywhere. He is origiually selected as the most influential and substantial man in his village ; but the office is, as a rule, hereditary. The duties are 220 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. principally connected with disputes regarding the village lands, in which xhtjeth rayat acts as a kind of mediator between the landlord and his brother cultivators. At the commencement of the year, it is customary for the landlord to present him wilha.pagri, or some such small gift. He can be dismissed at the option of the landlord, for misbehaviour. The baigds or village priests of the Kaimur plateau do not, according to Mr. Eyre, constitute a distinct caste. They are Kharwdrs, or Khairwars, and were formerly the owners of the soil ; but their lands have long been in strangers' hands, and their priestly functions are fast being usurped by Brah- mans from the plains. A trace of their former influence is found in the custom of the eldest son becoming the baigd, where he is a descendant of the former village-owner, and resides in his native village. The Kols of Rohtas choose their own baigd. The term and the office seem to have been derived from the primitive Gondii polity. The baigds exercise a good deal of influence, and are regarded with superstitious awe. It is said that the rayats will not plough or sow their fields until the baigd sets the example ; nor will they cut their crops until he has eaten a portion from each. Should he quarrel with the proprietor, and leave the village, all the tenants follow, and no new village can be founded without him. In addition to the baigd and the jeth rayats there is another kind of headman, known as the mukaddam or gawdn, a term originally applied to the first settler in a village ; but the name has extended itself to all his descendants, so that many mukaddams are now to be found in one village. They do not appear to have any great influ ence ; but they are consulted in matters regarding the village and its lands, and occasionally enjoy the privilege of leasing fisheries, &c., on advantageous terms. At rent-time they receive trivial presents, such as sweetmeats, &c., from the zaminddr, who cannot remove or dismiss them. Formerly they collected rents and sent in unclaimed property, receiving 5 per cent. of their collections as wages for their services; but these privileges have long been in abeyance. PatwArfs, or village accountants, were largely utilised in taking the Census of 1872. The patwdri registers are now carefully kept up, and the necessary corrections made from time to time. There is generally onzpatwdri in each village ; but in not a few cases there is only one to several villages. He is appointed by the zaminddr ; and his nomination, if confirmed by the Collector, is duly registered. The post is generally hereditary, but the zaminddr has the right of dis VILLAGE OFFICIALS. 221 missal. The patwdris are almost invariably Kdyasths by caste. In the whole of the Sdsserdm Subdivision, there is only one Musalmdn patwdri. They are paid either in kind or in cash. Their duties are to keep the village accounts, and also, if there is no tahsilddr or gumdshtd, to collect the rents of the zaminddr. They frequently hold land, seldom keep shops, and rarely lend money. Their educa tion is generally confined to a little Hindi, but a few know Urdu also. The grdm purohits, or village priests, perform various ceremonies at the seasons of sowing and reaping. They are paid from 25 to 50 sers out of every hundred maunds of grain. The post is heredi tary, being generally filled by the heirs of the deceased priest. The gordit, or village chaukiddr, is paid, if at all, either by the produce of the chaukiddri jdgir, or by receiving one ser on each " plough " that a rayat holds. The lohdr, or blacksmith, makes the ploughs and the agricultural implements. In payment he receives 20 sers of grain for making a plough, and from one to two bundles of dhdn or rabl during the reaping season, and two handfuls of paddy for each plough for every day that the rabl sowings last. The kumbhdr or potter often occupies a piece of rent-free land in return for supply ing the village with pottery. The ndpit or barber, and the dhobi or washerman, are paid one half of the lohdr 's wage. The chamdr, or shoemaker, receives one bundle of grain from every field, four sers for every pair of shoes, and one ser for every nddhd or neck-buckle for bullocks. Panchayats. — A full account ol panchayats, or village councils, has been given in the Statistical Accounts of Patna. and Saran Districts (vol. xi. pp. 91-93 and 265-267). The following paragraph on this subject is quoted from a report by the Subdivisional Officer of Bhabud :— "In mauzd Mokrf there is a council called pathar, to which ques tions of irrigation, caste, and public hospitality are referred. The council-house is erected in the form of square stone benches, fixed on stone stands, large enough to contain one hundred persons. It is supported from the produce of a piece of land, reserved for the practice of public hospitality." Village Dues and Cesses. — I quote the following from Mr. Eyre's Administration Report for 1872-73: — "The patwdri, or village accountant, is not paid by the landlord ; where rents are paid in cash, he receives from the rayat from three pies to one dnnd in every rupee of rent. Where rents are paid in kind, he receives 222 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAIIABAD DISTRICT. one ser in every maund, whatever the crop may be. Where the pro duce is divided in equal shares between the landlord and the tenant, this cess is levied from the latter. Where the custom known as nausat, or a division of o-16ths to the landlord and 7-16ths to the tenant prevails, the former pays the cess. The grain is weighed in the village khalihdn, or threshing-floor, by a member of the Sonar, Tell, Sunrf, or Makert caste, as the case may be. His remuneration consists of two and a half sers of each kind of produce, which is taken from the gross undivided amount. He is entitled, in addition, to the gleanings of the field after the crop has been cut. The village barber is the next to appear on the harvest-field. He comes with his looking-glass, which he shows to the rayat cutting his crop. This ceremony entitles him to half an armful of the produce ; and when again repeated at the khalihdn, entitles him to take a full armful. The village chaukldar usually holds, in remuneration for his services, a portion of land given him by the village landlord. Theoretically this land is rent free, and, so far as the recipient is concerned, it is so. But the rent, at current rates, of that land is added to the rents payable by the other cultivators, and thus the balance is restored. If the chaukiddr receives no land, each cultivator pays him in money or kind. The village chamdr, or tanner, takes the skin of all bullocks and cows that die, the property of the village rayats. He supplies the household with shoes, and the cultivator with throat-lashes and yoke-leathers for his plough bullocks. He receives in return a half armful of the grain of each harvest from the field, and a full armful from the khalihdn. The village dhobi, or washerman, is paid according to the same rates as the tanner. In return for these customary diminutions of his produce, the culti vator receives the professional services of these village officials, or rather manorial servants ; but it must be evident that the deductions are somewhat in excess of the return given. "In addition to these outgoings, there must be taken into con sideration the exactions of the landlord. Safe in the exercise of arbitrary power up to a certain point, he afflicts the rayats with demands calculated to interfere materially with their own especial pursuits, (1.) He takes their bullocks, and ploughs his own land therewith without remuneration. (2.) He compels them to sow his fields without payment. (3.) He exacts one ghard of sugar-cane juice from each sugar-mill. (4.) His field labour, performed by the low castes, is not fully remunerated, being paid in food only. (5.) He MATERIAL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. 223 exacts oil (chirdghi) from each Telf. (6.) He takes baskets from each dom and shoes from each chamdr without payment. (7.) The village ndpit shaves and shampoos him unremunerated, and the village lohdr supplies ironwork unpaid. (8.) If he resides on his estate, the village kumbhdr supplies pottery at the Holi and Dashahdra festivals. If he is a non-resident, the village amId is daily supplied instead." Material Condition of the People. — The impoverished condi tion of the lower classes in Behar generally has been already alluded to in the Statistical Accounts of the Districts of Patna (vol. xi.) and Gayd (ante, pp. 73-75). Although, in Shdhdbad, the average density of the population is much less than in either Patna or Gaya, yet a much larger proportion of the area is uncultivable, and the actual pressure of the population on the soil is quite as great in this District as in either of the others. The condition of the people in the Sasseram Subdivision has been described by Mr. Eyre, the Subdivisional Officer in 1871-72. In some portions of his description, it may be that he exagger ates the poverty of the agricultural classes ; but on the whole, he gives a fairly accurate picture of the material condition of the people generally. He divides them into four classes : — (1) gentry (ashrdf); (2) artificers (karigar); (3) traders (baniyd); and (4) labourers (kdrindagdti). The first class has of late years so in creased in number, that though the pride of those who constitute it is unlimited, the poorer among them are compelled by sheer necessity to resort to manual labour. Some hold lands, which they cultivate . by hired labour, but a large proportion cultivate their fields with their own hands. No Brdhmaii will hold the plough ; and Rajputs who, like the Bdbhans and Pathans, look upon themselves as hereditary soldiers, are also averse to the toil of cultivation. Before the Mutiny of 1857, there were many Shahdbad Rajputs in the native army, and these on their return home helped to swell the numbers of the rebels serving under Kuar Sinh. Kayasths seek service in the courts or in factories, and act as private servants to the more wealthy landowners and merchants. The members of the artificer class, as a rule, hold farms and cultivate the soil, besides following their special trades. When two brothers occupy the same house, it frequently happens that one attends to cultivation while the other follows the hereditary occupation. The baniyds are petty traders ; in this class are included the bepdris, who carry about, on pack bullocks, produce of all kinds between the villages and market 224 S TA TIS TIC. I L A CCO UNT OF SHA HA BA D DIS TRIC T. towns. The labouring class includes both those who hold farms and those who plough and act as day-labourers. The wealthier inhabitants of the District live for the most part in the principal towns, in substantial houses built of brick or stone ; the poorer villagers, on the other hand, inhabit mud cottages with tiled roofs. Men of the richer classes wear muslins in summer, and cloths of English manufacture in the cold weather; and their wives and children wear gold and silver ornaments. Menial servants are kept by every respectable family, and the status of these servants (except that they cannot be sold) is practically identical with that of slaves. Lavish expenditure is the chief characteristic distinguishing members of the old families from the novi homines who have been enriched by trade or usury. The condition of members of the artificer class varies with the different trades followed. Mr. Eyre includes in this class all kinds of manufacturers — from the affluent goldsmith, who is always well off, to the poorest weaver (Juldhd), whose profits seldom exceed 6d. or 7d. a day. The bepiiri, who carries grain from the country to the markets, forms the link between the producer and the wholesale dealer. He trades on his own account, and sells only to the wholesale dealers, who supply the retail vendors. The pressure of the population on the soil, and the universal objection to emigration, combine to render the position of the peasant a very unenviable one. A general understanding exists between the cultivator and his land lord, that the former is not to be dispossessed from his holding as long as he pays his rent. This rent, however, is not fixed, but is regulated by the rates current in the village, and these may be varied at any moment at the will of the landholder. As long as this custom continues, no amelioration in the condition of the labouring classes can be expected. Increased exertions on the part of the cultivators only lead to the enforcement of a higher rate of rent, and the profits are appropriated by the landlord. The cultivator has no inducement to work ; and he therefore satisfies himself with merely obtaining from the land as much as will enable him to support himself and his family, and to meet if possible his obligations to his landlord. Nearly all the cultivators are in debt, either to the owner of the land or to the village grain-dealer ; and the lenders know that their investment is safe, although their only security is the helpless ness of the borrowers, and their attachment to the soil. The position of the barber, tanner, washerman, and other village servants is some- DRESS .-^DWELLINGS, ETC. 225 what better, for, in addition to their profits from cultivation, they receive fees in grain from the other villagers for performing the duties of their respective offices. The Dress of the people of Shahdbad resembles that described in the Statistical Account of Patna District (vol. xi. pp. 100-102). The richer natives wear, in the warm season, worked and plain cloths of ndinsukh and malmal, or of siiikar or malmal worked with thread. In the cold weather, bandt makmal, dhupchhdyd, and English cloths and flannels are the materials used. Dehli shoes are generally worn, or the shoes called zardozi, worked in brass or bell-metal on tasar silk. The average cost of a dress for both seasons is about ^3. A pair of shoes costs 2s. 3d., and the price of the zardozi is 4s. a pair. Women of the better class wear every year four dresses (sdri) of fine cloth, costing 4s. 6d. each ; their ornaments consist generally of a nose-ring, two kinds of silver armlets (called joshan and bank), a pair of silver anklets (kard), bracelets (kard and pahunchi), ear-rings and necklets of silver. The value of these ornaments will usually be from £% to £io. Every child, after it is eight years old, wears silver ornaments of the average value of ^3 to £4. Muhammadan ladies do not, if they can afford it, wear any but gold ornaments on the arms, neck, or ears ; but they sometimes use anklets of silver. Hindu women of position do not wear shoes, but Muhammadan ladies are not so strict in this particular. The poorer gentry dress more cheaply. Both males and females wear ndinsukh or American cloth only. The ornaments of the women are of silver or bell- metal, the cost of which does not exceed £$, 7s. Add to this the price of two sdris, 4s. 6d., the price of a waist-cloth (dhuti), turban (pagri), cloth (chddar), and jacket (mirzdt), 10s. 6d., and the cost of a child's clothing, 3s. ; and the total expenditure on clothing for a man with a wife and one child is £4, 5s. Of this sum the greater part, namely, that spent on ornaments, is incurred once for all. With regard to the other classes, I can add nothing to the description given in the Statistical Account of Patnd District. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton remarked that the practice of painting the forehead with red, and anointing the body with'oil, is not so com mon here as in Behar. Dwellings. — " Except in the greater rudeness of roof," writes Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton, " there is no difference in the huts or furniture of Shahdbdd District as compared with those in Behar," described in the Statistical Account of Patna District. Mr. Eyre reports that vol. xn. o 226 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. " the houses of the gentry are generally of stone or brick. Orna ments of carved work are sometimes found on the front of the galleries, either of stone or wood. The stairs, doors, and windows are miserably small and awkward. The roofs are generally flat In the country villages, the houses of the gentry are of mud, tiled as a rule ; but when the narrow means of the family do not permit this, thatch only is used. The mud of the walls is mixed with broken pottery, to impart solidity. Most of these houses are flanked with four towers at each corner of the courtyard, but some have but two towers, one at each end of the front range. Wooden balconies are common ; and these, supported by carved beams of wood, form below an entrance verandah. The huts of the poorer classes are dark and close according to our ideas, but keep out the wind and rain. They possess a small aperture, generally facing east, unprotected by any door of wood, but closed at night by a hurdle. A roof, supported by the walls, and by a ridge pole running from one gable end to the other, is tiled sometimes, but among the poorer classes thatched with rice-straw, sugar-cane leaves, or coarse grass. If the family be numerous, additional huts are added, built on a square, which they face, and which forms the courtyard (dngan). These huts, of which two are given up to the cattle and the grain, form the residences of the mass of the population. It seems almost needless to state that sanitation is undreamed of; and although cleanliness of person is a generally observed canon, Oriental scrupulosity is not extended to the dwellings." With regard to household furniture, a cultivator has none but the barest necessaries, such as have been mentioned in the Statistical Account of Patni District (voL xi. p. 105). The following estimate of the utensils used by a well-to-do Muhammadan family, consisting of six persons, is given by Mr. Eyre : — Two cooking pots (degcht), value 14s. ; one long spoon, 9d. ; four plates, 6s. ; four small spoons, is. 6d. ; two lotahs, 6s. ; four bowls (katord), of bell-metal, 5s. ; two jars for water, is. ; one basin (lagan), 4s. — total value, jQi, 18s. 3d. In a Hindu family of the same size and position, the utensils in use are as follow : — Two cooking pots (batlohi), 15s.; four plates (Ihdli), 14s.; two bowls (katord), 3s.; four tumblers, 4s. ; one frying-pan (kardhi), 5s. ; one iron spoon (kakhhi), is. ; one brass bowl (katord), 8s. ; one iron bowl, 4s. ; one lotah, 1 os. — total, £$, 4s. The better classes have beds (Mrpdi) of more elaborate workmanship than those in common use. Cur FOOD. 227 tains are extremely rare ; but mattresses of coarse cloth stuffed with cotton, and pillows stuffed with the same material and covered with long cloth, are used. Food. — The Collector in 1870 estimated the average monthly expenses for the family of a well-to-do shopkeeper, consisting of six persons, as follows : — Rice, 11s. ; pulses, 5s. ; flour, 10s. ; melted butter, £1 ; oil, is. ; vegetables, 4s. ; milk, 4s. ; servants' wages, 5s. ; clothing, 10s. ; salt, 6d. — total, ^3, 10s. 6d. per month. For a peasant's family of six persons : — Rice, 1 2s. ; pulses, 4s. ; vege tables, is. ; oil, is. ; salt, is. ; cloths, 4s. ; liquor, &c., 4s. — total, £i, 7s. These estimates give an average annual expenditure of £i, is. for each member of a shopkeeper's family, and £2, 14s. for that of an ordinary cultivator. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton wrote that " a much smaller quantity of animal food is used in Shahabdd than in Behar. The richer and higher castes consume chiefly goats' flesh. Geese are not killed ; there are very few pigeons, and no ducks, and Hindus do not eat fowls. The lower castes have many swine, and eat pork twice or thrice a month. The supply of game is not great ; and what there is, is eaten principally by the lower classes of cultivators. The higher castes, however, eat partridges and quails, the only birds of which they are fond. Lean goats' meat is sold daily in the market at Arrah and Sasseram ; and the well-to-do Hindus, except a few Brahmans, do not scruple to buy meat from the butcher. In small places, these tradesmen kill whenever there is a demand. No beef is publicly sold ; but I suspect that more is used than is generally avowed, for both here and in Behar there are butchers who live by killing cattle. The killing of cattle is, as is well known, hateful to a Hindu ; and accordingly when Muham- madans eat beef, they conceal the fact as much as possible, from fear of giving offence to the Hindu portion of the community. To the inquiries, therefore, that I made, conducted chiefly by Brahmans, the people both of Behar and of Shahdbad denied what they consider the crime of beef-eating. The flesh of buf faloes is in little or no request. Fish is even scarcer here than in Behar, there being very few large tanks. The only direction in which there is room for luxury in food among the natives is in the use of rice, ghi, milk, spices, sugar, salt, and oil. The quantity of oil considered as a full daily allowance for five persons, young and old, varies in different places from 4 oz. to S\ oz., the latter figure being usually nearer the truth than the former. Sugar, or extract of 228 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHADAD DISTRICT. sugar-cane, is chiefly used in sweetmeats for children, and at all feasts on public occasions. Adults generally use sugar only with sherbet. a cooling drink consumed in the hot weather in this part of the country, composed of water and sugar, or extract of sugar cane, with capsicum or black pepper, both of which are considered cooling. Rice is eaten twice a day by all who can afford it ; but near the Ganges the staple food of the lower orders is generally some coarser grain, which, in the interior also, is used at least once a day. The coarse grains in commonest use are barley, pease, and a pulse called chana (Cicer arietinum). A few of the poorer people use as substitutes for grain — mahud flowers, and the kernels of the mango, sakwd, and kend fruits. The family of a poor farmer with one plough (consisting of six persons young and old), consumes daily "j\ lbs. of cleaned grain for boiling, and as much meal for pudding, with i lb. 10 oz. of split pease for seasoning — in all, 16 lbs. 10 oz. of farinaceous food each day for the six persons, young and old, which seems a very large allowance. The fuel in most common use is cow- dung made into cakes ; sometimes it is mixed with husks of rice, but more frequently it is used alone. In the well-cleared parts of the District, firewood is exceedingly dear, and, indeed, is often not procurable, except by sending cattle and woodcutters to a great distance. Even in the vicinity of some forests it is very scarce, the trees being preserved, partly from religious motives, and partly because they shelter game. The demand for cow-dung cakes is, therefore, very great, as in the cold season every one who can procure fuel burns a fire by his bedside ; and the quantity of bushes, rushes, and woody stems of various crops, such as arhar and cotton, that is procurable, is quite insufficient for fuel." Mr. Eyre gives the following estimates of the monthly household expenses of (1) a Muhammadan, and (2) a Hindu well-to-do family of six persons: — (1.) Meat, 14s.; rice, 9s. 5d.; pulses, 5s.; flour, 5s.; melted butter, 13s. 5d.; salt and spices, is. 3d.; oil, 5s. — total, £2, 13s. id. (2.) Rice, 11s. 3d.; pulses, 6s. 3d.; flour, 5s.; melted butter, 13s. 5d.; salt and spices, 8s. 5d.; oil, 5s. — total, £2, 9s. 4d. If we add the cost of tobacco, pdn, and firewood, the monthly expenditure will in both cases'amount to about £$. The Muhammadan family would keep one male and two female servants ; the former receives his food and 2s. a month as wages, the latter only receive food and clothing. The children of the servants are maintained by the head of the house, and expenses connected with their birth and marriage AGRICULTURE : CLASSES OF SOILS. 229 are met by him. The total yearly wage and expenditure amount to £12, 8s. For a Hindu family, one male and one female servant are considered sufficient, and the cost of their maintenance is about £8, 8s. per annum. Games, Amusements, Conveyances, &c. — These differ in no respect from those found in the Districts of Patna and Gayl I need only add to the description which has been given in the Statistical Account of Gaya (ante, pp. 78-82), that the custom of keeping fighting rams is common in all these Districts. A good ram will sell for £$ Agriculture. — A general idea of the state of cultivation in Sha- hibdd District, and of the various crops which are grown in the different pargan&s, may be gathered from the following abstract of a Report which was submitted by the Collector in November 1873, at a time when it was feared that there would be a considerable failure of food-crops throughout this part of the country. The total area of the District is 4385 square miles, or 2,808,400 acres. Of this area, 2,200,000 acres may, in round numbers, be said to be cultivated. The area usually covered by autumn (b/iadai) and winter (aghani) crops is about 1,500,000 acres, that occupied by spring or rabi crops 600,000 acres, and that covered by other than food staples 100,000 acres. The rabi crop is grown chiefly in the north of the District. In pargands Arrah and Baragawan, from two-thirds to three-fourths of the lands are under rabi cultivation. In Bhojpur and Bihiya, the proportion is about a half, and in Dinarah about two-thirds. The remaining pargands produce principally rice, about three-fourths of the area yielding a rice crop in ordinary years. Among staples other than food grains may be mentioned — opium, indigo, sugar-cane, oil seeds, and cotton. In Arrah and Baragawan, with a cultivated area of about 140,000 acres, there are about 4000 acres which produce such staples. In Bihiya, with a cultivated area of 124,000 acres, 8000 acres yield staples other than food grains. Soils. — Shahabad may be said to have on the whole a much drier soil than the trans-Gangetic Districts of Saran and Tirhut. Along the north of the District runs a fringe of low-lying land, locally known as khddir zamin, representing the bed of the Bands or old Ganges, which is annually inundated for about four months, when the present stream is in high flood. Cold-weather crops of the finest character are grown here, on a soil which is enriched by the silt which every flood brings down. 230 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. Very little land has been rendered uncultivable through being covered by sand blown from the bed of the Son. The soil is light for a few miles west from that river during the greater part of its course, except at its mouth, where the influence of the Ganges makes itself felt. According to Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton, this light soil can be divided into two classes, one consisting of fine sand, mixed with a loose mould, and known as baIa, usar, and rehar ; the other a very- tenacious clay, intermixed with a good deal of coarse sand, which becomes so hard in dry weather, as to be frequently mistaken for clay. It is only when mixed with water that its true nature becomes apparent. Both soils, so long as they are kept moist, produce good crops; but without continual irrigation they grow nothing, except a few pulses sown in the rains. Throughout the District, a free mould forms a large portion of the soil ; when quite free, it is known as doras, pairu, and dhash, but when a little clay is found with it, it is called sigat. This last soil is especially fitted for rice. Clay or bdngar lands are considered the best, on the whole, as they retain moisture very well, and produce cold weather crops without irrigation. When a greyish black tinge is present, the soil is called kharail or ketvdl. This produces wheat, jdo, masiiri, gram, and khesdri ; but by the middle of March, it is baked hard and covered with gaping fissures caused by the heat. If a parallel line be drawn at a distance of three miles from the S6n, up to the Grand Trunk Road and then along that road, all the soil in the Sasserdm Subdivi sion to the north and west of such a line is khardil — a black argil laceous soil, with a slight admixture of sand. To the east and south, again, is the doras soil, which is annually fertilised by the hill streams. Balmat soil produces good rice crops ; but if in village lands, vegetables and opium are generally grown on it. Dcbono soil is of a similar character. The soil in the saucer-shaped valleys on the Kaimur plateau is a rich and purely vegetable mould, swept down from the hills above. Rice Cultivation. — There are three principal rice crops : — (i.y The bhadai, or early-rain crop, which is sown in July or August, and ripens in about sixty days ; (2) the bdwag, which is sown broad cast in June or July and reaped in November and December; (3) the ropd or winter crop, which is also sown in June and July, and is transplanted in August and reaped in December and January. There is another kind of rice called boro, sown in November, trans planted in January, and cut in April. This crop is grown only on RICE CULTIVATION. 231 marsh lands and on the sides and in the beds of shallow rivers ; the area cultivated with it is very limited. The first rice crop yields about 2-16ths, the second about 5-16ths, and the third about 9-16ths of the entire out-turn ; the figures being in an average year about 70,000 tons, 175,000 tons, and 315,000 tons respectively. The two chief varieties of the early-rain crop are the sdthiyd and the sirhd. The ground is ploughed and afterwards harrowed while it is under water, and then the seed is sown broad-cast. After two or three days the water is run off; but the ground is again flooded after an interval of eight or ten days, and remains under water till the crop has ripened. From 48 lbs. to 50 lbs. of seed are required for an acre, and the produce averages about 7 cwts. The bdwag, or broad-cast rice, is sown after the commencement of the rains, generally on low lands. Little attention is paid to the crop after it is once sown. The amount of seed used, and the aver age out-turn are the same as in the case of sdthiyd. The following six varieties are mentioned by the Collector: — (1) karangd, (2) jhingi, (3) sabadoyid, (4) badli, (5) kdlibdnk, (6) karahari. The winter rice, called ropd, is sown broad-cast on nursery beds, nearly a hundredweight of seed being used for every acre. The field is then smoothed with the harrow (hengd). In about a week the seed has germinated ; and before a month has elapsed, the seedlings are transplanted into fresh ground. The crop is cut in December of January, and the out-turn on an acre of land is generally from 11 to 12 cwt. Winter rice is seldom planted two years in succession in the same field, but is alternated with broad-cast rice. The latter is cultivated with less trouble and expense; but the out-turn from the former is much greater, and all the finer kinds of rice are transplanted. The following seventeen varieties are given by the Collector : — (1) bdnsphul, (2) longchur, (3) kawalbds (4) shdh pasand, (5) gopi, (6) sukhdds, (7) karangi, (8) jhingi, (9) kapsahd, (10) amdghand, (11) sukhbilds, (12) jalhar, (itfvjharhdn, (i4)sahadiyd, (15) kapsdr, (16) thdkurbhog, (17) bhirkabdr. The following seventeen sorts are also grown in Shdhabdd: — (18) baitarni, (19) bardnti, (20) ndinsukh, (21) bdsmati, (22) kanakzird, (23) kauhi, (24) rdmjuid, (25) gazmukta, (26) Idldiyd, (27) raiangop, (28) sitd bhoj, (29) hururd, (30) rdm- prashad bhoj, (31) shdm zird, (3*) rdmsdl, (33) sdhil, (34) sugd pankhl. In Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton's time, rice was the principal crop in the District, except on the low banks of the Ganges ; although the 232 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. neglect of some landowners in repairing the reservoirs on their estates had somewhat diminished the extent cultivated, and had very much reduced the produce. He estimated that half the District was cultivated with rice, and he had no doubt that extended irriga tion would render the land fully as productive as in Behar. " All the transplanted rice is finer than what usually grows in Bengal, but inferior to that of Behar. The finest variety, sukhdds, is very white, and its smell is nearly as agreeable as that of the Patnd bdnsmati. The land on which the seedlings are reared is generally manured, and about half of it is planted with rice after the seedlings have been plucked. The remainder lies fallow. The seed is commonly- made to sprout before it is sown, and the quantity of unprepared seed that is sown in any crop of rice is very inconsiderable." The seasons for sowing and reaping vary considerably with the rainfall. The following dates for the different crops were ascer tained by Captain Heywood, R.E., from personal investigation, and may be thoroughly relied upon. Bon rice is sown from November roth to January 15th, and cut from April ist to May 3ist. Early rice, including sdthiyd and bdwag, is sown from June 15th to August 3ist, and cut from September 10th to November 30th. Winter rice is sown from June 15th to July 30th. The work of transplanting takes place between July 15th and September 10th, but the period of greatest activity is generally about the middle of August. The crop is cut from November ist to December 2 2d. The names by which rice is distinguished in the various stages of its growth are as follows : — Bichhan, the seed ; ropa, the seedling ; renra, the plant when the ear appears ; Ml, the ear ; dudha, when the grain is soft ; goti, when the grain hardens ; dhdn, ripe paddy ; chaul, cleaned rice ; bhdt, cooked rice. With these may be compared the names given in the Statistical Accounts of Patna and Gayd Dis tricts (vol. xi. p. 110, et ante, p. 84). Preparations made from Rice, &c. — I have little to add to the list of preparations made from rice given in the Statistical Account of Gaya (ante, p. 84). The prices in the market vary with those of the ingredients. The Deputy-Collector of Bhabua states that miirhi, or parched paddy, sells at 10 lbs. for a shilling; and that chiird, or rice which has been steeped in water and then beaten, is sold at from 16 lbs. to 18 lbs. for a shilling. Bhdt, or plain boiled rice ; khichri, or rice cooked with ddl ; rasld, or rice cooked with molasses ; dhdn Idwd, or roasted paddy ; CEREAL CROPS. 233 pharhl, or roasted rice ; and the mixtures made from rice flour, chaureid, by boiling it in molasses and water, or by cooking it with melted butter — are the preparations made from rice which are most commonly eaten by the people of this District. It is stated that no liquid preparations are made from rice in Shahabdd. Other Cereals. — Wheat, or gaham (Triticum vulgare), is sown from the 15th October to the 20th November, and reaped from the 27th February to the 15th April. It is generally sown broad-cast on sandy soil, and requires as a rule three waterings. It is frequently sown on lands from which a crop of early rice has been taken. It is often sown together with barley, and also with gram, mustard, or linseed. Bread if oil) is made from wheat flour (mdidd). The stubble is grazed by cattle, and the pounded straw (bkusd) is used as fodder. Barley or jdo (Hordeum hexastichum) is sown from the 15th October to the 2ist December, and cut from the 20th February to the 15th April. It is sown partly with wheat, in which case the crop is called gujai ; partly by itself, and partly with pulse. When mixed with gram or peas, the crop is called jdo biintd, and jdo kardo respectively. Coarse bread is made from barley; but the grain is more usually parched and then pounded, in which form, called satii, it is largely consumed by the labouring classes. Like wheat, barley is sown broad-cast, and requires three waterings. Oats ox jdi (Avena sativa) are sown from the 15 th October to the 20th November, and cut from the 20th February to the 15th April. This crop is but little grown in Shdhdbad District, except on estates under European management. Chlnd (Panicum miliaceum) may be sown at almost any season from the 20th December to the ist May. It is cut from the 10th February to the 15th June; two or three crops being some times taken during the same season. It requires but little water, and is frequently sown on poppy lands after the opium crop has been gathered. Marud (Eleusine corocana), a millet, is sown from the 15th June to the 20th July, and cut from the 15th August to the 15th October. It is partly sown broad-cast, and partly transplanted to ground that afterwards gives a winter crop. It is largely con sumed by the poorer classes in the form of saiii, or as coarse bread. This is a most important crop, and in bad seasons, when the rice crop fails, it supports the people till the spring crops have been harvested. Maize, or Indian-corn (makdi), is sown from the 20th June to the 20th July, and cut from the 15th July to the 15th August. It has in many parts of Shaliabdd District, and especially 234 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. along the bank of the Ganges, succeeded marud as the staple bhadai crop. The out-turn is larger, and the grain more satisfying. Be sides being consumed in the form of bread, or as satii, the young ears, while still green, are often parched in the cob, and so eaten. Janird, a species of Holcus, is often sown together with Indian corn. It is generally cut in September. Bdjrd (Pencillaria spicata) is sown from the ist July to the 15th August, and cut from the 15th September to the 15th October. Kodo, a species of Paspalum, is sown from the 20th June to the 3ist July, and cut from the 19th September to the 3d December. Sdnwdn, a millet, and tangun, are sown in July and cut in September. Green Crops. — Gram, but or chand (Cicer arietinum), is sown from the 15th October to the 15th December, and cut from the 15th February to the 5 th April. Besides forming the best fodder for fattening horses, this pulse is eaten by the natives in all stages of its growth. The young leaf is eaten as sag, and the grain is split and converted into ddl, or pounded into satii. Khesdri (Lathyrus sativus) is sown from the ist October to the 15th November, and cut from the 10th February to the 15 th March. This crop is fre quently sown broad-cast among the rice stubble. It requires no care ; and the grain is eaten by the poorer classes, who, unlike the people of Eastern Bengal, have no prejudice against its use. Peas or matar (Pisum sativum) are sown from the 15th October to the 20th November, and cut from the 25th January to the 15th March. Rahar or arhar (Cytisus cajan) is of two kinds. Both are sown from the 20th June to the ist August; but the inferior kind or rahar proper is cut generally in February, while the superior kind, some times called rdm rahar, is cut a month later, and sometimes not till the 15th April. Masuri (Ervum lens), a lentil, is sown from the 10th October to the 15th December, and cut from the 9th February to the 20th March. Urid (Kutu ulunu), also of two kinds, the green and the black, is sown from the 20th June to the 3ist July, and cut from the 30th September to the 16th. Mug (Phaseolus mungo) is sown at the same time as urid, and cut from the 20th November to the 15th December. Rahar iirid and mug are often sown in the same field. Mothi is sown in August. and cut from the 16th November to the 3d December. Kulthi (Dolichos biflorus) is sown from the 30th August to the 15th September, and cut from the 27th November to the 20th December. Oil Seeds. — Linseed or tisi (Linum usitatissimum) is sown from the MISCELLANEOUS CROPS. 235 15th October to the 20th November, and usually cut early in March, but the harvesting period extends from the 15th February to the ist April. Castor or renri (Ricinus communis) is sown from the 20th June to the ist August, and cut from the 29th December to the 30th April. Til (Sesamum orientale) is sown in July and reaped in Sep tember. Mustard or rdi (Sinapis nigra) is sown from the 1 5th October to the 20th November, and cut from the 25th December to the 28th February ; but very little is left on the ground after the beginning of February. The cultivation of oil seeds, and the processes used in extracting the oil, have been fully described by Mr. Bourdillon, whose report has been inserted in the Statistical Account of Gaya District (ante, pp. 89-91). The Vegetables mentioned by the Collector are carrots (gdjar), radish (mult and baiguri), which are sown in October and ripen in March ; potatoes (dlii), sweet potatoes (sakarkand), and suthni, a variety of the Dioscorea, which are sown in October and ripen in January or February ; beans (sim), sown in July and cut in March ; nenua, and tauka or kadd, which are sown in July and ripen in August; and kohanrd, sown in July and gathered in November. Among condiments the Collector mentions chillies, which are grown all the year round ; carraway (zird), coriander (dhaniyd), and aniseed (son/), which are all cultivated from October to March. Carraway and aniseed are largely grown in the Bhabua Division, whence they are exported to other Districts. The Fruit-Trees of Shdhdbad resemble those which are grown in the Districts of Patna and Gaya. The commonest are — mangoes, apples, loquats, lichis, oranges, lemons, mulberries, &c. The date- palm is cultivated for the sake of the juice, from which a liquor, tdri, is manufactured. The mahud flower is used for the manufacture of country spirit, and is also eaten by the poorer classes, especially by those living near the jungles. Fibres. — Cotton, kapds, is sown in October and reaped in May. Jute ox patud (Corchorus capsulars) is sown in February or March, and cut in August and September. Hemp or san (Crotolaria juncea) is sown from the 15th June to the 15th July, and cut from the 30th September to the 3ist January. Miscellaneous Crops. — Sugar-Cane (akh) is planted from the 15th February to the 20th March, and cut from the 20th November to the 20th of the following April. As a rule, the crop takes a year to ripen. It is planted in cuttings of about a foot in length, in rows 236 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SIIAHABAD DISTRICT. about two feet apart. When the plant begins to sprout, it is well watered and the surrounding earth is loosened. Each plant grows into a cluster of canes, which are generally ready for cutting in Feb ruary or March. This is a very valuable crop, and is grown exten sively throughout the District. It requires great care, and must have seven or eight waterings, even if the other crops have to do without water in consequence. The method of extracting the juice is much the same as that described in the Statistical Account of Gaya District (ante, pp. 92, 93), except that in many villages an iron mill is now- being substituted for the indigenous stone mill. Poppy or poshtd (Papaver somniferum) is sown from the 15 th October to the 23d November, and the capsules are scarified for the purpose of extracting the juice from the 10th February to the 31st March. The cultivation of the poppy, and the method of extracting the opium, &c., has been fully described in the Statistical Account of PatnA District (vol. xi. pp. 114, 115 and 146-154). The area under cultivation in Shdhdbad in 1875 was 35,281 opium bighds, or 22,050 acres; the total out-turn was 7554 maunds, or 269 tons 16 cwt. ; and the average produce per bighd 8t sers, equal to an out turn of 27 \ lbs. of opium per acre. Betel-Leaf ox pan is cultivated at all seasons in the manner de scribed in the Statistical Account of Gaya District (ante, p. 93). Tobacco is not much cultivated. A species called chanpati is grown near Sdsserdm over an area of about 100 bighds. From this is produced from 800 to 1000 maunds of leaf, which is for the most part disposed of locally, but a small quantity is exported to Bendres and the North-West Provinces. Safflower or kusiim (Carthamus tinctorius) is sown from the 15th October to the 15th November, and gathered from the 15th February to the 15th April. The dye is made from the flowers, and. oil is afterwards expressed from the seed. The seeds are placed in an earthen pot (hdndl), which is pierced with holes, and put on another pot. Fire is applied under the lower pot and all round the upper one, and the oil trickles through the holes into the lower pot. The oil expressed has a very offensive odour ; it is used for besmearing the leather moths used in irrigation, and also for application on sores and ulcers. The poorer classes also use it for burning, and some times for culinary purposes. No use is made of the seeds after the oil has been extracted from them. SafHower is sometimes planted by itself, but is oftener intermixed with other crops. The area under INDIGO CULTIVATION. 237 cultivation is less than it was formerly. In Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton's time the annual produce was estimated at 799 maunds, valued at ^454, 8s. Indigo. — The system of indigo cultivation in Patna, Gaya, and Shdhdbdd is totally different from that followed in the Districts north of the Ganges. The cultivation is for the most part nij, that is, on lands in which the factory have by long possession acquired a prescriptive right. The whole expenses are paid directly by the planter, who employs his own labourers and bullocks. The seed is sown all through the rains from June to October on good rabi lands, or on lands which, from their propinquity to a river, have an alluvial soil. The seed is sown early in the rains ; and the plant grows to a good height by the end of September, when it is cut for the first time, and the manufacture commences. The stalks (kunthi) are allowed to remain in the ground and gather strength during the ensuing cold and hot weather ; they throw out leaves again on the ap pearance of the rains, and give a first-rate cutting in July and August. Two crops are always obtained from one sowing ; but on strong soils, and under favourable circumstances, the plant after its second cutting gives a good supply of seed in December, and is then allowed to stand for a third crop. After this the land is ploughed and leased out for a year for spring crops ; in this way the soil is refreshed, and prepared to bear indigo cultivation again in the following year. Thus, the same fields will be cultivated with indigo for three years, and with spring crops in the fourth year, after which they will be again sown with indigo. This system of cultivation, called Mnthi, is the one most generally practised in the southern Districts of Behar ; but some indigo is also grown on the jamdwah system. In this case the indigo is sown by the cultivators on poppy lands in March or April, and reaped at the end of the rains, in time to allow of a crop of opium being taken off the same lands. The whole cultivation is at the cost and risk of the cultivators, who take an advance from the factory (generally from 10s. to 12s. a bighd), and bind themselves by contract, under a penalty of £2 a bighd, to cultivate a certain area with in digo. The crop is cut by the cultivator, but is carted to the factory (which supplies the seed gratis) at the planter's expense, and the bundles are then weighed, measured, and paid for at the rate of 2s. for four bundles, or one cart-load. The frequent disputes arising out of the system of measurement have in most cases given rise to a practice of appraising the crops on the field. Arbitrators are appointed 238 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. who calculate the value before they are cut, and this system is generally preferred by both parties. The factory is saved a good deal of trouble, and the cultivators the expense of bribing the factory ser vants, who record the number of. bundles carted into the factory. The sums paid to the cultivators vary according to the quality of the crop from 10s. to £2, the average being about £i, 3s. a bighd, or about £2 an acre. As the sole expense to the cultivator is that of actual cultivation, and as he is able to take a second crop so valuable as opium off the land, the arrangement may be considered as usually very remunerative to him. According to Mr. Thomson, a landowner in Shahabdd District, the total expense to the cultivator of growing a bighd of indigo is 15s. ; and for a fair out-turn he receives from the factory £2, and sometimes as much as £3 per bighd. But the necessity for extreme labour in irrigating at the most trying season of the year, prevents this system from being so popular with the cultivators as the high rate of profit would lead one to expect. The manufacture is carried on in much the same manner as in Tirhut, and need not be particularly described (see vol. xiiL pp. 98-104). There are two periods for manufacture. The first mahdi, as it is called, is in the beginning of August; and at this time all the jamdwah indigo and the second crop of the kunthi indigo are manufactured. At the second mahai, beginning about the 9th • October, the first crop of the kunthi cultivation is usually manu factured. Owing probably to the drier climate and less favour able soil, the dye in Shahabdd District is as a rule inferior to that of Tirhut, and fetches a lower price. In consequence of frequent droughts, the crop is an exceedingly precarious one ; and the smaller profits realised even in the best season by the planters, owing to the low price brought by the dye, renders them less able than those on the north of the Ganges to weather bad years. Regu lar supplies of water from the Son canals may remedy the losses caused by the uncertainty of the rainfall ; but of late years the canal works, by raising the price of labour, have considerably injured the profits of this industry, and it is not unlikely that indigo cultivation south of the Ganges will be altogether discontinued. Area, Out-turn of Crops, &c. — The figures on record showing the areas occupied by different crops are at best only approximately accurate, and the publication of such statistics is under any circum stances unsatisfactory ; but when, as is the case in Shdhabad, these areas will shortly be changed by the introduction of a complete sys INDIGO CULTIVATION. 239 tem of irrigation, whereby the area occupied by irrigated crops will be largely increased, while that covered by crops requiring little or no irrigation will be diminished, such statistics, even if they are now trustworthy, will shortly become misleading. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton estimated the total area of Shdhibid District at 4087 square miles ; of which 136 square miles were occupied by rivers, tanks, marshes, and watercourses, 764 square miles by hills and tableland, 672 square miles by forests, jungles, and deserted villages and fields, and 174 square miles by broken corners, burial-grounds, roads, markets, and barren lands. In other words, 1746 square miles were waste-lands, 2294 square miles were cultivated, and 47 square miles were cultivable. In 1870 the Collector estimated the total area of the District at 4403 square miles ; of which 2755 square miles were cultivated, 521 square miles were cultivable, 149 square miles were under water, and 978 square miles were inca pable of cultivation. At the commencement of the paragraphs on Agriculture, I have given roughly the areas occupied by paddy and the spring crops throughout the District. For the Sdsseram Subdivi sion Mr. Eyre gives the following statistics for the year 1872-73 : — ' Total area of the Subdivision, 1757 square miles. Cultivated area, about 1488 square miles, or 952,535 acres; under paddy, 132,207 acres, or about one-seventh of the cultivated area; wjieat, 156,508 acres, or about one-sixth of the cultivated area; peas, 96,675 acres; gram, 60,340 acres; masuri, 58,271 acres; barley, 29,875 acres; khesdri, 24,690 acres; rahar, 24,652 acres; linseed, 5896 acres. Total under the spring crops specified, 456,907 acres, or nearly half the cultivated area. Under marud, 11,918 acres, and under tangun, 250 acres. The average produce per acre is given as follows : — Rice, broadcast, 5 maunds ; transplanted, 7 maunds ; wheat, 6 maunds, 3 sers ; peas, 2 maunds, 25 sers ; masur, 2 maunds, 10 sers; barley, 8 maunds; khesdri, 1 maund, 35 sers; rahar, 1 maund, 5 sers ; gram, 3 maunds ; linseed, 7 maunds, 4 sers ; marud, 3 maunds, 8 sers ; and tangun, 4 maunds. For the other Subdivisions I have no accurate figures. In 1870 Mr. H. C. Levinge, the Superintending Engineer of the Son circle, issued a series of questions to five of the principal landowners in the District, of whom three were Europeans and two natives. The following answers were returned, showing the produce per acre of the different crops ; where the answers gave different figures, the average has been taken: — Paddy, 13 maunds (9 J cwts.); wheat, 13 maunds (9J cwts.); barley, 13$ maunds (nearly 240 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. 10 cwts.) ; linseed, 7 maunds (5J cwts.) ; peas, 12^ maunds (about 9 cwts.); sugar-cane, 31 maunds (or about 2 2f cwts.); chind, \t\ maunds (about 9 cwts.) ; safflower, 1 maund (82 lbs.) ; tobacco, 14 maunds (1o1 cwts.) ; opium, 8| sen (17 lbs.). Condition of the Cultivators. — A holding of above 100 acres in extent would be considered a very large farm, and anything below 10 bighds or 3J acres a very small one. A fair-sized comfortable holding for a husbandman cultivating his own lands would be about 40 bighds or 13 acres. A single pair of oxen cannot plough more than 15 bighds or 5 acres. A small holding of this size would not make a peasant so well off as a respectable retail shopkeeper in a village, but it would enable him to live as well as a man earning Rs. 8 or 1 6s. a month in wages. The general condition of the labouring classes has been already described. The proportion of tenants with rights of occupancy to the general body of tenants-at-will is said to be as one to four. The number of cultivators who have established, or have been acknowledged as possessing, rights of occupancy is re turned at 1497 ; while 985 persons have been acknowledged to pos sess land in perpetuity without enhancement of rent, under Act X. of 1859. The expenses of a cultivator's household have already been given. According to the Collector, a peasant could support himself and a middling-sized family comfortably on Rs. 10 or £i a month. The Domestic Animals of Shdhdbdd District consist, as in Patna, of buffaloes, oxen, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, fowls, ducks, pigeons, dogs, cats, and horses. Those used in agriculture are oxen and buffaloes. The animals reared for food or as articles of trade are sheep, goats, pigs, fowls, ducks, pigeons, and horses. The value of a fairly good cow varies from £2 to £1, 10s. ; of a pair of oxen, from £2 in the Sdsserdm Subdivision, and £$, 4s. in the Bhabud Subdivision, to ^4 in the Sadran& Baxdr Subdivisions ; of a pair of buffaloes, from ^3 in the Sadr Subdivision to £4 or £5 in the other Subdivisions ; of a score of sheep, from £2 to ^3, 10s. ; of a score of kids six months old, from £1 to £2 ; and of a score of pigs, from £6 to £S. The Agricultural Implements in use in this District are as follows : — (1) The hal or plough, which consists of \h&joydl or yoke, the parihat or handle, the harts or pole, the phdr or ploughshare, the nddhd or leather by which the yoke is fastened to the pole, and the karitdti or pin which fixes the share to the plough. The imple ment is drawn by two bullocks, and is of the same form as that used AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 241 in Patni. The price of a plough with the yoke is, according to Mr. Eyre, only is. 3d. (2) The tar, a sort of plough used for sowing seed in drills, which differs from the hal in having a small iron spike (tarsu) in place of the phdr. It has also a long hollow bamboo called maid bdnsd, with a funnel-shaped mouth. This bamboo is fastened to the pole, and to the tdr or bottom of the handle; and the seed placed in the cup or funnel falls down the hollow tube just behind the spike. (3) The hengd or harrow is a log of wood used to level the ground after it has been ploughed ; it is generally drawn by four oxen. (4) The koddl'i or spade. (5) The hasud or sickle. (6) The khurpl or weeding- iron. These instruments have all been described in the Statistical Accounts of the Districts of Patni and Gayd (vol. xi. pp. n8, 119, ante, p. 96). There are four machines used in irrigation. The following de scription of them is taken from a report by Captain J. M. Heywood, R.E., Executive Engineer employed on the Son Canal Works : — " The moth consists of a leathern bucket made out of a single cow's hide, varying in capacity from 1 J to 3 A cubic feet; the edges of the leather of the bucket or bag are turned over an iron ring from if to 2 feet in circumference, and three iron stays welded to the ring at equidistant points at one extremity, and also welded to one another, provide the necessary attachment for the rope. This rope, generally made of buffalo's hide, one inch in dia meter, is passed over a rude wooden pulley supported by a forked post, firmly fixed at the lower end, and inclining over the well's mouth at the upper end. The rope is fastened to the yoke of the pair of bullocks, which supply the motive power. The bullocks descend an inclined plane varying in length with the depth of the well, and thus bring the bucket to the surface, where it is emptied by a man specially stationed for the purpose. In the field under irrigation, a third man is employed in admitting the water to the crops, or in sprinkling it over the ground with a wooden scoop, shaped something like a spade (called a Iidt/id), from the spots where it collects. The average capacity of a moth is nearly 2f cubic feet, the quantity of water raised per hour varies from 75 to 250 cubic feet ; and as the working day is often not less than twelve hours, the daily out-turn varies from 900 to 3000 cubic feet. The value of the leather bucket varies from 3s. to 6s., the rope costs 8s., and the ironwork is. 6d. The bucket lasts during the season of irrigation (about four months), and the rope two years." vol. xn. p 242 STATISTICAL ACCOLWT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. The cost of irrigation for one season, as estimated by Mr. H. C. Levinge, the Superintending Engineer of the Son Circle, is as follows : — One-tenth of the cost of a pair of bullocks, 7s. 3d. ; four mor.tlis' feed of bullocks, jQi, 4s. ; four months' wages for labourers, £,2 ; cost of truth, us. — total, jQi, us. 3d. The average area irri gated is 8 acres to one moth ; so that moth irrigation costs nearly 18s. per acre for the year. Tne latha or lever, weighted at one end, and attached by a rope to a small bucket at the other, which has been described in the Statistical Account of Patni District (voL xi pp. 28, 29), is very largely used. The bucket (kunri) is almost always of iron, and varies in capacity from -36 to '28 of a cubic foot. The number of lifts per hour varies from 200 to 280, in wells about 20 feet deep. The number of cubic feet raised per hour is from 73-5 to 96-84. One of these machines at Arrah delivered 95-2 cubic feet per hour, and was able to water 8000 square feet of peas. Another, delivering 73-5 cubic feet per hour, watered 5631 square feet of barley, making, in the two cases respec tively, 6214 and 6S22 cubic feet, as the watering usually given to an acre of such crops. The bucket costs 3s., and lasts in some cases nine years. One Idtha requires three men ; but when more than one latha is worked from the same well, fewer men are required for each lever. For instance, six lathas worked from the same well may be managed with a complement of only ten men. The annual cost of irrigating with a Idtha is thus estimated by Mr. Levinge : — One-eighth of the cost of a latha and bucket, 6d. ; four months' distribution, £2, 12s. — total, £2, 12s. 6d. One Idtha will irri gate half an acre in the year; the cost is, therefore, £1, 6s. 3d. per acre. The moth and the Idtha are generally used on higli grounds ; on lower lands, where facilities occur for the collec tion of water, the don or the sdnr is substituted. The don is a boat- shaped wooden scoop, attached at one end to a lever, which has its fulcrum a little to the side, the lever being weighted at the other extremity with mud. The hollow is about 10 feet long, and 6h inches wide, and varies in depth from 3 or 4 inches to 6 or 7 inches, in different parts. The highest convenient lift is about 4J feet, so that this machine is used solely for elevating water from the artificial reservoirs (dhars), so numerous in the Districts of Shahabid, Patni, and Gaya. It is worked with great rapidity, almost twice as fast as the Idtha, and the ordinary capacity varies from 1 to 08 cubic feet, so that a very large quantity of water (500 cubic feet) can be WAGES AND r RICES. 243 Taised by its means in an hour. Two attendants are required to afford the necessary relief at the machine, and one man or a boy is employed in the field. The don will last two years. The cost of irrigation by this method is thus estimated by Mr. Levinge : — Half cost of don, 3s. ; four months' distribution, £2, 19s. —total, £3, 2s. One don will irrigate eight acres per year, and the cost is, therefore, 7s. 9d. per acre. The sdnr, or chdnr, as it is called in Patna Dis trict, is used instead of the don, when the quantity of water remain ing is small. It is a sort of triangular basket made of bamboo, witii the edges raised on two sides. Cords are attached to each angle, and these are held by two men, one standing on either side of the ditch from which the water has to be raised. The sdnr is worn out in a couple of days. The annual cost of this method of irrigation is thus estimated by Mr. Levinge : — Cost of sixty-four baskets, 8s. ; four months' labour, £4, 16s. 6d. — total, ^5, 4s. 6d. The area irrigated in one year is 8 acres, so that the cost of irrigating 1 acre per year is 13s. For the cultivation of what is technically known as a ' plough ' of land, equal to about 12^ acres, the following cattle and implements would, according to the Collector, be generally necessary : — Two pair of oxen, one plough with yoke, drill, &c, a spade, a harrow, and a machine for irrigation. These implements and cattle would represent a capital of j£g, 12s., of which about ^8 would be spent on the oxen. Twelve and a half acres, however, appears to be an excessively large ' plough.' About half that area, or ten bighds, is mentioned by Mr. Eyre, the Deputy-Collector of Sasserdm, as suffi cient to employ four oxen. The Deputy-Collectors of Bhabui and Baxdr in 1870 gave similar estimates, and calculated the cost of the requisite cattle and instruments at from £7 to £8, 14s. Wages and Prices are reported to have risen in Shdhabad District, but the Collector does not give the details for early years. Accord ing to Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton, day labourers were in 181 2 allowed from one bundle in twenty to one bundle in thirty-two of what they reaped ; but as their bundles were always considerably larger than those which the owner received, the rate of their wages could not be correctly ascertained. By calculating the most usual allow ances given to day-labourers in each division, Dr. Buchanan- Hamilton found that the rate varied from 3I to 8$ per cent, of the gross produce. The quantity of grain reaped daily by one man varied in different parts from 8ii lbs. to 349 lbs., the amount being ~-_-_izz. ~ "— ~ — r — ~-= ^ -=Jt zs. t^ss rat 1*05 to . — -_ - -^ -L --- — - -:.. rxx -c=r "le sis ~ itxij trcrrsE:: -■?. •sr.ii ._r 1^; ■«- .- Zvsrrcr. 2i :^ ;, — i:n:i?:a "-rreky: rice was vr.-.-u: 7Z :~ ■^'^ -^ ^2 rr:ei. t *i ic i rirr'fr2:lTS_ri: : wieor. at - . j^-. '.-j- ^zz rj;» xiiiLi r.n. fr^rre.ri- «tcraa. it 1 7 J sers ir .-.it -i-.-ss. bt 1.-:. =.i i iar:.x?:r*e_r:r : birier. ar 17 j jot for the r.vts. v is. i>- i- znzL.irt-v^j.Tz - Eid lin^rL 11 24 \ sers for the tvjv- 'X x.- -ri. a --r:'^~*-;-»°l n~- I>==z tie ceax three years »f r,n "»-tr» i. r- 'wri ^J a siccsssuie ct cad Lanebis. Rice and ■».->»; vv..- ic irj jzt? 5-r tie rz^es. cr os. 9«i. a hundredweight; marui, it fi ar: irx tf-.e rrp-ss. oc fe ;i » hundredweight ; barley, at 2 khesdri, at 24 sers the rupee, or 4s. 9d. a hundredweight. Early in 1872, common rice was selling at 17 | sers the rupee, or 6s. 5d. a hundredweight ; wheat at 20 sers the rupee, or 5s. 5d. a hundred weight ; marud, at 24 sers the rupee, or 4s. 9d. a hundredweight ; barley, at 23 sers the rupee, or 4s. 11d. a hundredweight; and khcsdri, at 26J sers the rupee, or 4s. 3d. a hundredweight. During the scarcity of 1874-75, rice sold in June 1874 at 10J sers the rupee, or 10s. 5s. a hundredweight ; and wheat at 14J sers the rupee, or 7s. 8}d. a hundredweight. These were the highest prices during the year. After this the price fell, till in December 1874 rice was selling at 20 sers, and wheat at 19 sers, for the rupee, or at 5s. 5d. and 5s. 8d. a hundredweight respectively. Weights and Measures. — The following tables are given by the Collector : — 8 rati - 1 mdsha; 10 mdsha = 1 told ; 5 told = 1 chhatdk; 1 6 chhatdk = 1 ser ; 5 ser = 1 pasuri ; 8 pasuri = 1 man or maund of 82 lbs. avoirdupois. This is the standard or pakkd rate of weight throughout the District ; but in grain and other transactions various local weights are commonly used. These vary, not only from pargand to pargand, but from village to village ; and different weights are often used in the same village for weighing different commodities. The number of sers in a maund varies from 40 to 52, and the weight of the component sers also varies. The standard ser contains 80 folds, the told being the weight of the sikkd rupee, or 180 grains troy ; and no ser is heavier than 88 to.'ds. The most com monly used kachchd or country ser contains only 48 tolas or 12 gandds ; but 48 of these sers go to make up the kachchd maund. Land measure does not vary to the same extent, the bighd of 27,225 square feet being used throughout the District, except in the Bhabua Subdivision, where the bighd contains only io,888 square feet. The standard table of square measure is as follows : — 20 dhiirki — 1 dluir ; 20 dhiir= 1 kdthd ; and 20 kdthd=i bighd. The bighd is measured by a bamboo 8 feet 3 inches in length, called lagi, bdns, or tdlka. For cloth measure the ell (gaz) of 56 fingers (a/tguli) is in common use, but in Arrah a longer ell of 64 fingers is used by the cloth dealers. According to Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton the ell equals 17! girah, or 45 inches. The measures of time are the same as those given in the Statistical Account of Gayd District (ante, p: 100). Land Tenures. — With regard to land tenures, I have little to add to what has been already said in the Statistical Account of Gayd District (ante, pp. 100-103). T'le same intermediate tenures between 246 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. the zaminddr and the rayat prevail in Shahabad, as on the opposite bank of the Son ; and the same systems are adopted for dividing the crop between the cultivators and their landlord. The majority of the intermediate tenures are evidently of recent origin. They partake of a zar-i-peshgi nature : i.e., they have been granted by the zaminddr in consideration of a money advance or mortgage loan. Of other intermediate tenures, generally known as mukarraris or istimrdrts, those granted only for the life of the tenant are locally known in Shahdbad as hin-hiyatis ; those granted in perpetuity as mislan-bad-mislan. The term shikmi is said to be applied to sub-leases granted by these intermediate tenure holders. The following terms seem to be used in a peculiar sense for rent- free tenures. Milki, which properly means ' proprietary,' is applied to all rent-free grants, but especially to those made by zaminddrs to oid servants and retainers. Vishnuprit, which ought to be confined to grants for the maintenance of the worship of Vishnu, is reported to be used in this District for the holdings of chaukiddrs and gordits, and for jdgirs granted by Government in reward for good service. Among occupancy tenures, the guzashtd deserves notice. It does not derive its validity from Act X. of 1859, but from immemorial custom. The rent, again, is not liable to enhancement on the grounds specified in that Act, but only at regular intervals of twenty years. Tiie cultivators pay their rent either in kind (bhdoli) or in cash (ttakdi). The latter system prevails everywhere in the case of special crops, such as poppy, sugar-cane, cotton, and potatoes ; and is adopted for all crops throughout tiie northern pargands of the District. In the bhdoli system the proportion taken by the land lord varies according to the crop. Thus, for broadcast rice, the customary landlord's share is 7-i6ths, known as nausat ; while for transplanted rice and wheat, and generally where irrigation requires to be carried on from wells, the landlord is content to take no more than one-third. Landless Day-Laboukers. — The Collector reports that there exists in Shdlidbdd a small but increasing class of day-labourers, called banihargs,w\\o neither possess nor rent lands, but depend entirely on their wages. These men often hire themselves out as field-labourers, and are paid by a share (sometimes amounting to i-16th) of the produce. In this case they are called lajhias. They occasionally supply half the seed and half the number of cattle required. It is RATES OF RENT. 247 supposed that this class first sprang up when the railway was being constructed, and no doubt it has been largely fostered by the de mand for labour on the Son Canal Works. Spare Land. — There is little or no spare land in the plains, but large expanses are met with on the Kaimur plateau, which are exten sively utilised for grazing cattle during the rains. According to the latest figures, 333,440 acres are uncultivated, but capable of cultiva tion ; 197,760 acres are forest land; while 212,480 are uncultivable. In most villages of the District are found small strips of pasture land common to the whole village. Rates of Rent. — The following abstract, showing the rates of rent in Shdhdbdd District, was prepared by Mr. Edgar from informa tion supplied by the Collector in 1872. Early rice land, on which an after-crop of pulses, vegetables, oil seeds, &c., is grown, is. 7d. to 15s. 10d. an acre, or 8 annds to Rs. 5 a bighd. Late rice, gene rally a single crop, 3s. 2d. to 15s. iod. an acre, or R. 1 to Rs. 5 a bighd. Garden land, is. 7d. to 9s. 6d. an acre, or 8 dnnds to Rs.3 a bighd. Food grains, viz., wheat, peas, masi.iri, &c., and linseed, 2s. 4|d. to £i, 11s. 8d. an acre, or 12 dnnds to Rs. 10 a bighd. Sugar-cane, 6s. 4|d. to £i, 5s. 6d. an acre, or Rs. 2 to Rs. 8 a bighd. Opium, 9s. 6d. to £i, 18s. an acre, or Rs. 3 to Rs. 12 a bighd. The Collector, in 1871, submitted the following list of the rates of rent obtaining in each Subdivision : — Sadr Subdivision. — Kardil, or land on which sugar-cane, poppy, and food grains are grown, £$ an acre, or Rs. 10 a bighd ; doras, on which similar crops are grown, the same; bdngar, on which similar crops are grown, £2, 2%. an acre, or Rs. 7 a bighd ; balmaf, on which spring crops are grown, £i, 4s. an acre, or Rs. 4 a bighd ; rehar and raharchat, on which paddy and pulse are grown, 18s. an acre, or Rs. 3 a bighd ; dhiis, on which wheat and other spring crops are grown, 9s. an acre, or Rs. 138 a bighd. BaxAr Subdivision. — Kardr, on which poppy and other valuable crops are grown, from £i, 10s. to £$ an acre, or from Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 a bighd; kardil, or land which yields about 15 cwts. an acre, or 7 maunds a bighd, from £i, 4s. \o £i, 10s. an acre, or from Rs. 4 to Rs. 5 a bighd ; kewdl, or land which yields about 1 1 cwts. an acre or 5 maunds a bighd, from 12s. to 18s. an acre, or from Rs. 2 to Rs. 3 a bighd ; tdnr, or land which yields 6i cwts. an acre, or about 3 maunds a bighd, 6s. an acre or R. 1 a bighd. 248 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAH AB AD DISTRICT. Bhabua Subdivision. — Sigat or dry land, from 13s. 6d. to ^4, 10s. an acre, or from 4 dnnas to Rs. 15 a bighd ; kardil, or moist land, from is. 6d. to £i, 4s. an acre, or from 4 annas to Rs. 4 a bighd. SasserAm Subdivision. — The Deputy-Collector gives two tables, one showing the different kinds of soil and the crops grown on each, and the other showing the rates of rent paid for the different crops. Kardil or Itcwdl and bhithd are lands on which spring crops are grown. Doras, sigat, and balmat are lands on which paddy of all sorts is grown. Dcbono and tari, lands on which poppy and vegetables are grown. Kabisd, land on which gram, rahar, til mothi, and kiiltlii are grown. Lands on which transplanted rice is grown let from j£i, 2s. 6d. to 18s. an acre, or from Rs. 3-12 to Rs. 3 a bighd; broad cast rice lands, from 15s. to 12s. an acre, or from Rs. 2-8 to Rs. 2 a bighd; early rice (sdthiya) lands, from 13s. 6d. to 9s. an acre, or from Rs. 2-4 to R. 1-8 a bighd ; poppy lands, from £i, 13s. to £i, 7s. an acre, or from Rs. 5-8 to Rs. 4-8 a bighd ; indigo lands, from £2, 2s. to 12s. an acre, or from Rs. 7 to Rs. 2 a bighd ; sugar-cane land, £i, 10s. an acre or Rs. 5 a bighd; vegetable lands, £2, 2s. an acre, or Rs. 7 a bighd ; wheat lands, from 18s. to 15s. an acre, or Rs. 3 to Rs. 2-8 a bighd; barley land, from 16s. 6d. an acre to 12s. an acre, or from Rs. 2-12 to Rs. 2 a bighd; land on which peas and masiii are grown, from 13s. 6d. an acre, or from Rs. 2-4 to R. 1-12 a bighd ; gram lands, from 7s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. an acre, or from R. 1-4 to 12 dnnas a bighd; rahar lands, from 6s. to 4s. 6d. an acre, or from R. 1 to 1 2 dnnds a bighd ; maize lands, from 6s. to 3s. an acre, or from R. 1 to 8 dnnds a bighd ; linseed and til land, from 4s. 6d. to 2s. 3d. an acre, or from 12 dnnds to 6 dnnds a bighd. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton, writing at the beginning of the present century, stated that garden and high lands near villages, together with sugar-cane and cotton land, watered from wells, let at the rate of from Rs. 2-4 to R. 1-5 a Calcutta bighd; while the "out-field," called pdlo, was all let by a division of the crop. No records exist showing the different rates of rent for the various descriptions of land in former times ; but the Collector states that the operation of the Rent Law (Act X. of 1859) has led to a general enhancement, more especially in pargands Pfru, Nanor, and Arrah. Manure is not in very general use, except for poppy and other special crops. Ashes and the dung of cows and sheep, are the principal manures used in Shahabad ; and in the southern portion of the District, the ashes of burnt jungle-wood, and particularly of IRRIGA TION. 249 sakud, or sdl trees, are thus utilised. The average cost of manuring a field is said to be about R. 1-8 or 3s. per acre. Irrigation is extensively practised throughout the District. the means employed being, as in the neighbouring Districts of Patnd and Gayd — reservoirs (dhar), wells, and watercourses (pdin). The dhars are filled partly from the pdius, and partly by the sur face-drainage of the adjacent lands. They are the property of the landowners, who keep them in repair, and reimburse themselves by the higher rent they are able to obtain for lands which are watered in this way. The rice crop requires an abundance of water at regular intervals ; and to make the crop remunerative, the irrigation should be caused by a natural flow of water. The cost of lifting a sufficient quantity of water for the purpose is so great, as to neutra lise the profits that would otherwise accrue ; so that when the culti vators are forced by deficient rainfall to raise water to irrigate their rice crops, they only lift the very minimum sufficient to save it from total destruction, trusting that an early fall of rain may still come. The check caused by an insufficient supply of water at any period of its growth, however, materially affects the out-turn of the crop. The rabi or spring crops are invariably irrigated, except on the low-lying khdder lands along the bank of the Ganges. Wheat and barley generally receive three waterings ; peas from two to three ; and gram only one. Poppy requires seven or eight waterings, and sugar-cane from six to twelve. According to Captain Heywood, the quantity of water given at one time hardly ever exceeds 6800 cubic feet per acre, which would cover the surface to a depth of if inch. He estimates the water required by an acre of wheat and barley at 20,400 cubic feet ; the quantity required by peas at from 13,600 to 20,400 cubic feet; that required by gram at 6800 cubic feet ; and that required by poppy at from 47,600 to 54,400 cubic feet. The average area annually irrigated by a mot or don is 8 acres ; and the cost of watering an acre, as stated above (pp. 241-243), is 18s. by a mot, £i, 6s. by a Idthd, 7s. 6d. by a don, and 13s. by a sdnr. The amount of water avail able for irrigation varies with the rainfall, but is always limited. Consequently, the area cultivated with crops requiring irrigation is also limited. As soon as the Son Canal Works are completed, and water can be procured to a practically unlimited extent, this area will naturally be enlarged ; and, moreover, the produce of lands 2jo STATISTICAL ACCOUNT. OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. which are now insufficiently watered, will, in the opinion of the landowners, be considerably increased. Rotation of Crops is practised, to a certain extent, in Shah- abad District. Sugar-cane is never grown twice in succession on the same lands. Indigo, after three years, is succeeded by some spring crops. Many of the rabi crops, especially those which, like rahar, occupy the soil for several months, are usually alternated. On the other hand, the great spring crops, such as wheat, barley, &c, are generally grown on the same lands year after year. Paddy also is invariably grown on the same land. In short, when the soil can stand the same crop, no change is made ; but where it gets impoverished by a continuation of the same crop year after year, some sort of rotation of crops is practised. The custom of raising a spring crop on land from which an autumn crop has been previously taken, has been already alluded to in the Statistical Account of Gayd District. Natural Calamities. — Shdhabad District is subject to blights, floods, and droughts. Blights are caused by worms, caterpillars, and locusts, but not on such a scale as to affect the general harvest. Rot (sarjanS) and mildews (hardd and giriii) occasionally do con siderable injury. " Twice within the last ten years," writes the Col lector in 1870, "about 10 per cent. of the entire rabi crop has been destroyed by blight." Snow, hailstorms, and the south wind (dachind) are said to cause injury to the crops in the Bhabua Sub division. The Ganges annually overflows its banks ; but the principal inunda tions result from the rising of the S6n on the elevated plateau of Central India, near Umar Kantak, about 300 miles from this District. Destructive floods have only occurred during the last few years, since a portion of the high land that formerly protected Shdhdbad was washed away. In the Bhabua Subdivision, floods are caused by heavy rainfall on the hills, and the consequent swelling of the hill torrents ; but these floods do not affect the general prosperity of the District. The injury caused to the rice crops is frequently compen sated by a corresponding improvement in the rabi or spring crops. The Collector considers that about one-sixth of the total area is subject to inundation. This estimate agrees with that of Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton, who calculated that out of a total area of 4087 square miles, 136 square miles were constantly under water, or were barren channels; 165 square miles were regularly inundated ; 237 DROUGHTS: FAMINES, ETC. 251 square miles were liable only to occasional floods, but were covered every year, for some days at least; and 126 square miles were in some years flooded occasionally for two or three days ; while 3423 square miles were entirely free from inundation. Droughts arising from deficient rainfall and the want, which is now being remedied, of an extensive and complete system of irriga tion, frequently cause considerable distress. Four times in the course of five years — in 1865, 1866, 1867, and 1869 — droughts seriously affected the general harvest. The bad state of communi cation in the interior of the District rendered the local scarcity in those years yet more severe. During the famine of 1869, grain was selling in the south and interior of the District at a rate 30 per cent. in excess of the current price near the railway. On this point Mr. M'Namara, the District Engineer, reported in 1869 as follows : — " In looking back on the circumstances connected with the late distress, it is impossible to doubt that the large importations of grain into the District warded off the famine that was impending ; and the inhabi tants, rich and poor, speak blessings on the railway. But the railway was not all that was needed. The grain that was to give life to the people had to be distributed throughout the District, and the imper fect condition of the local roads rendered this a task of the utmost difficulty. During the rains, when the importations were greatest, the Sasseram and Arrah Road, which is the principal line in the Dis trict, but unmetalled, was crowded with traffic ; and it was painful to witness long strings of carts, half-ahundred in a line, cutting their way through a foot deep of puddles." The Chausa pargand in the Baxdr Division was notorious for the frequency of its bad harvests ; and, with the exception of a very incomplete system of wells, there was formerly no safeguard against the effects of this calamity. Famines. — The great famine of 1866, coming as it did after the resources of the poorer classes had been exhausted by bad harvests in the two previous years, caused considerable loss of life in Sha- liabad District. The following account of the famine is con densed from Mr. F. R. Cockerell's Report. In this District dis tress was felt most severely in pargands Chausd, Pirn, Chdinpur, Nanaur, and Panwdr, in which rice cultivation predominates. In both 1864 and 1865, owing to excessive drought, the rice crop failed to the extent of from five-eighths to three-fourths of the out-turn of an average season. With the exception of the strip of country lying between the line of railway and the river Ganges, where the 252 5 TA TIS TIC. I L A CCO UNT OF SHA HA BA D DIS TRICT. land, being low and subject to inundation, retains sufficient mois ture for the growth of spring crops, and an area of about 750 square miles in the immediate vicinity, which receives the drainage of the Kaimur Hills, the District generally suffered in both these years for want of a timely and sufficient rainfall, the harvests being far below the average. The failure of the crops in 1864 led to the rapid exhaustion of local stores of grain ; and towards the end of 1865 the District, which, in ordinary years, exports to a considerable extent, was mainly dependent on imported grain for the support of its population. The second complete failure of the rice crop of 1865, therefore, at once caused very general and severe distress ; all food grains had then risen to more than double the rates prevailing at the corresponding period in 1863; and in respect of barley, peas, and gram, which, when the price of rice is beyond their reach, are much consumed by the poorest classes, the increase of price in the same period had been fourfold. No special relief measures were commenced, how ever, till the beginning of June 1866, when employment was given to the distressed labouring classes in the repairs of roads in the Sub divisions of Sdsseram and Bhabua. The sum of ^250 was allotted for expenditure in this form in each of these Subdivisions. In July relief committees were formed, and centres for the gratuitous distribu tion of food were opened at the headquarter Stations, and at six other places. Grain pounded into flour (satii), and cooked rice with dal, were distributed daily to the needy at the rate of from 1 to 2 lbs. of grain for each person. Those who were fit for work were employed on the roads, and paid at rates varying from id. to 3d. per day for each person. The average daily number of persons relieved when the distress was greatest amounted in August to 24S0, and in September to 2979. The average number of persons employed in road repairs was 868 in August, and 1662 in September. Government relief mea sures were supplemented by private liberality. But the number of deaths from starvation, as reported by the police, amounted to 3 161 ; and this figure is certainly far below the actual number. Cholera and smallpox were very prevalent, especially in the town of Arrah, and 954 deaths from disease were reported. Even if we take only the reported number of deaths, and compare that with the average daily number of persons relieved, the number of lives saved will be found to be considerably less than the number of lives lost ; and the necessary conclusion from this is, that the relief was inadequate to the occasion. The people suffering the severest distress were THE FAMINE OF 1873-74. 253 spread over an area of upwards of 1000 miles; and to relieve these, only seven centres (exclusive of those at Arrah, Bfbfganj, and Baxar, which were too distant to apply local relief to what may be termed the famine tract) were established ; and as regards time, no relief measures were commenced till long after the pauper population had been reduced to the extremity of striving to support life on roots, leaves, and grass. The highest prices during this famine are reported by the Collector to have been — for rice, 9 sers the rupee, or 12s. 6d. a cwt. ; and for paddy, 15 sers the rupee, or 7s. 6d. a cwt. The famine of 1869, following as it did a succession of bad years, also caused much distress in Shahabad District, and the scarcity was aggravated by the badness of the roads. Relief measures had to be organised, the able-bodied being employed on the roads, while the old and infirm were formed into kangali or beggar squads, who were paid daily in return for such light work as their infirmities enabled them to perform. The prices of food grains varied directly with the distance of the markets from the railway. Famine of 1873-1874. — The following account of the scarcity of 1873-74 is taken from reports by Mr. H. Alexander, the Collector of Shihabad District, and Mr. S. C. Bayley, the Commissioner of the Patna Division : — The spring (rabi) crop of 1873 had been good ; and all was going well with the bhadai till August of that year, when, in consequence of very heavy floods, and the subsequent cessation of rain, the paddy crop throughout the District entirely failed ; more than three-fourths of the expected out-turn was destroyed, and much of what was saved was due to the Son water, which was turned into the unfinished canals at the end of 1873, and freely distributed. In this way some paddy was saved, and an excellent spring harvest was ensured wherever the water had penetrated. With a bad bhadai, and no paddy harvest to speak of, all seemed to depend on the next rabi, and the year 1873 closed with insufficient rain to ensure this; a few showers about Christmas and in January, and the extraordi narily heavy dews, only sufficing to keep the crop alive in the ground, but no more. After this, however, things began to improve ; there was some rain towards the end of January; an inch fell in February ; and the safety of the spring crops was secured. Mean while the railway was pouring grain into the District from the North west Provinces and the Panjab. In the months of January and February, Shdhabad received 2,866,766 mounds, or 102,305 tons, of 254 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. food grain. Much of this was despatched across the river to Sdran, and some found its way into Gaya District. Government, as a precau tionary measure, consigned 93,284 maunds, or 3332 tons, of grain into Shdhabad District ; but except in the south, and for labourers on the canals, it was scarcely required, and 3802 maunds, or 1358 tons, was eventually forwarded to the more sorely distressed District of Saran. Of the remaining 52, 264 maunds, or 197410ns, 15,264 maunds, or 545 tons, were supplied to the labourers on the canal works; 25,784 maunds, or 921 tons, were sold ; and the residue, 508 tons, was spent partly in advances to needycultivators, which have since been recovered, and to a small extent in relieving those who, from age or infirmity, were unable to earn wages on the relief works. These works, consisting of repairs to the District roads, were opened in December 1873, after the failure of the paddy harvest. The total number of persons thus employed from the commencement of relief operations to their close in October 1874, was 1,241,730; and the total amount of wages paid, partly in grain and partly in cash, was ^11,766, 10s. The greatest number of labourers flocked to the works during the latter half of May 1874, this being the season when the harvesting of the spring crops comes to a close. During the fortnight ending 30th May 1874, 144,020 persons, of whom about half were men and the rest women and children, sought work on the Government roads. There was a marked falling off in these numbers towards the end of the following month, as the time approached for preparing the lands for the autumn sowings. For the purposes of charitable relief, a sum of ^2529, 7s. 6d , subscribed in the District, was supplemented by a Government con tribution of ^900. The recipients of relief were employed in doing light work, such as ropemaking, spinning, weaving, &c. The total number of persons thus relieved was 118,776, and the total amount expended on this account was ^2995, 4s. In addition, ^157, 14s. was advanced to cultivators for the purchase of seed- grains, which amount is now being realised by the Subdivisional Officers. The spring crop of 1874 was, as I have said, more than a good one. The bhadai and paddy crops are also described as being full crops, though an extraordinary flood of the Dargautf river, which burst through the Grand Trunk Road, did considerable damage. The spring crop of 1875 was above the average, and the effects of the scarcity may, therefore, be considered to have come to an end. ROADS. 255 Famine Warnings. — "Judging by the results of 1869," wrote the Collector in 1870, "the rate of 12 sets of common rice for the rupee (9s. 4d. per cwt.), after the staple rice crop has been gathered in, may be considered as a warning for the commencement of relief operations." The fallacy, however, of looking to market rates as an index of coming distress in the South Gangetic Districts has been pointed out by Mr. Bayley, the Commissioner of the Patna Division. Every landowner has his private store of grain ; and a good autumn crop, even if followed by a total loss of the winter paddy, will suffice to supply the people with food up to a late period of the following year, certainly up to the spring or rabi harvest. Foreign and Absentee Landholders. — The total number of proprietors or registered coparceners in Shahabad District was returned in 1871 at 23,071, and the land revenue at ,£172,541, 12s. There were eleven European proprietors paying £10,179 in land revenue, and 1679 Musalman proprietors paying £13,578, 8s. There are very few absentee landholders. Roads and Means of Communication. — "Two great roads," wrote Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton in the beginning of the present century, " pass through the whole breadth of the District, but neither is of much advantage to commerce. One of them is the military road from Calcutta to Benares, which is kept up, as is reasonable, by the public. Laden oxen, and even carts, can pass during the rainy season, except immediately after great falls, when many torrents render it impracticable. The other road, along the old bank of the Ganges, is also a military road from Dinapur to Baxa> ; it is maintained by a tax of 1 per cent, levied on the whole land assessed. This road is very indifferently suited even for military purposes, as it is not practicable in the rainy season, and is not carried through between any two great stations. Wheel carriages, even on these two roads, are very little employed except by travellers of rank, and that chiefly for their own conveyance, or occasionally that of their baggage. Almost the only means of con veyance procurable for hire in the interior, or even close to the Ganges, consists of pack-bullocks. Porters are used to carry the baggage of travellers, and weavers and shoemakers are generally held bound to perforin this service whenever required by their landlords, who in return exempt them from ground-rent for their huts." The custom of employing juldhds, or weavers, as porters is not yet extinct, though the practice has lately been resisted by certain 256 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAIIABAD DISTRICT. members of the caste. The movement of resistance originated in a village in the Sdsseram Subdivision, and appears likely to extend. The following list of the roads in Shdhdbad District was furnished by the Executive Engineer in 1876 : — (1.) Grand Trunk Road, 55^ miles in length, from Dehri to Naubatpur. This road is carried across the S6n on a causeway, which is flooded every year during the rainy season. The annual coast of repairs is ^2062, 4s. (2.) A metalled road from Dargaiiri to Zamdnia, 6i miles in length ; annual cost of repairs, ^32, 10s. The following sixteen roads are unmetalled, but they are raised and bridged throughout : — (3.) Road from Sdsseram to Arrah, 65 miles long ; annual cost, ^156. (4.) Road from Koelwar to Chausd, 58 miles long; annual cost, ^145. (5.) Road from Pfru to Bihiyd, 18 miles, annual cost, ^45. (6.) Road from Sinhdn to Bihiyd, 14 miles ; annual cost, ^21. (7.) Road from Sinhdn to Arrah, 11 miles; annual cost, £22. (8.) Road from Barhard to Arrah, 1 1 miles ; annual cost, ^33. (9.) Road from Kasopur to Kdmnagar, 7 miles; annual cost, ^io, 10s. (10.) Road from Nasrfganj to Diimrdon, 40 miles; annual cost, ^120. (11.) Road from Sdsseram to Bihiyd, 6 miles; annual cost, £\2. (12.) Road from Jadundthpur to Koelwdr, 122 miles; annual cost, ^224. (13.) Road from Tflothu to Sdsseram, 13 miles; annual cost, ^io, 10s. (14.) Road from Karondfd to Chhilbiba, 10 miles ; annual cost, ^io. (15.) Road from Chanarf to Jahdndbad, 20 miles ; annual cost, £20. (16.) Road from Jahdndbad to Karam- nassa, 28 miles; annual cost, ^60. (17.) Road from Bhagwdnpur to Bhabud, 9 miles ; annual cost, ^18. (18.) Road from Mohanidn to Bhabud, 9 miles ; annual cost, ^27. The following sixteen roads are raised, but not bridged : — (19.) Bhagwdnpur to Darauli, 28 miles ; annual cost, ^42. (20.) Dargdutf to Hatah, 24 miles ; annual cost, ^24. (21.) Bariin to Jahdndbdd, 16 miles; annual cost, £>id. (22.) Mohanfdn to Chausd, 31 miles; annual cost, ^53, 10s. (23.) Ramgarh to Nawdnon, 10 miles ; annual cost, ^10. (24.) Sasserdm to Chausd, 40 miles ; annual cost £g. (25.) Barun to Baxdr, 38 miles; annual cost not given. (26.) Dilddrnagar to Dindra, 27 miles; annual cost, ^27. (27.) Nfmjaur to Dumrdon, 14 miles; annual cost, ^ 14. (28.) Nfmjaur to Sarayd, 20 miles; annual cost, ^20. (29.) Nawdnagar to Arrah, 28 miles ; annual cost, .£84. (30.) Balfydghdt to Diimraon, 11 miles; annual cost, £16, 10s. (31.) Sahdr to Arrah, 19 miles; annual cost, ^47, 10s. (32.) Bfblganj to Jagdfspur, 12 miles; annual cost, ^12. (^.) Ukhgdnon ROADS: RAILWAYS, ETC. 257 to Arrah, 12 miles; annual cost ^36. (34.) Barhara to Koelwdr, 15 miles; annual cost, ^15. The following five roads were made during the famine of 1873-74, as relief works : — (35.) Saraya to Piiranda, 24 miles. (36.) Gadharf to Bihta, 16| miles; annual cost, £Z3- (37-) Bikramganj to Mohanfdn, 40 miles. (38.) Nanaur to Barona, 4 miles; annual cost, £12. (39.) Jahdndbdd to Puranda, 25 miles. The total length of district roads, exclusive of village tracks, is 957| miles. Total expenditure, ^3610, 4s., of which ^2062, 4s. is derived from Imperial, and the remainder from local funds. There is a road cess of 1 per cent. on the permanent reve nue of the District. The report of the Shdhdbdd District Road Fund for the year end ing September 1875, as published in the Calcutta Gazette of 12th July 1876, shows a total income for the year of ^2776, 8s.; of which ^1644 was derived from a road cess, not levied under the District Road Cess Act of 187 1, and ^889 from ferry tolls. The expendi ture in the same year amounted to ^4469, 12s. ; of which ^1411 was expended on original works and ^2760 on repairs. Railways. — The East India Railway traverses Shdhabdd District from Koelwdr Station on the S6n, to Chausd on the Karamnassa, a distance of 60 miles. The intermediate stations are Arrah, Bihfya, Raghundthpur, Diimrdon, and Baxar. The traffic at the principal stations for the year 1874-75 *s given by the railway officials as fol lows : — Arrah: Imports — grain, 635,165 maunds ; other merchan dise, 226,281 maunds. Exports — grain, 75,623 maunds ; other mer chandise, 58,284 maunds. Bihfya: Imports — grain, 106,848 maunds; other merchandise, 113,232 maunds. Exports — grain, 4848 maunds ; other merchandise, 46,744 maunds. Raghundthpur : Imports — grain, 55^55 maunds ; other merchandise, 24,057 maunds. Exports — grain, 5270 maunds ; other merchandise, 32,712 maunds. Diimraon: Imports — grain, 168,694 maunds; other merchandise, 147,446 maunds. Exports — grain, 22,113 maunds; other merchandise, 51,007 maunds. Baxdr : Imports — grain, 35,117 maunds; other merchandise, 77,954 maunds. Exports — grain, 9869 maunds ; other merchandise, 115,335 maunds. Total imports — grain, 1,322,979 maunds; other merchandise, 588,970 maunds. Total exports — grain, 117,723 maunds ; other merchandise, 304,072 maunds. Manufactures. — The Collector states that the principal manufac tures of Shdhdbdd District are sugar, paper, saltpetre, blankets, coarse cloth, and brass utensils. Carpets and rope are also manufactured VOL. xn. Q 258 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAH AB AD DISTRICT. in the Bhabui Subdivision, catechu in the Kaimur Hills, soap and oil in many parts of the District, and indigo at the Central European factories. Sugar- — The manufacture of sugar is largely carried on in the District In Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton's time the old stone sugar cane press, similar to the kind usually found in Behar, was invari ably used j but during the last few years this has been successfully replaced by a simple iron instrument first introduced by Messrs. Thomson & Mylne of Bihfya. The new machine does the work more thoroughly and with less manual labour than the old ; and one of the results of its introduction is that a larger area of land has been cultivated with sugar-cane. Mr. Eyre gives the following account of this manufacture in the Sdsserdm Subdivision : — There are fifty-eight manufactories in all, of which forty-two are at Nasrfganj, a village situated on the road running along the west bank of the Son, opposite Uncha, in Gayi District. The refining of the raw material is carried on during six months of the year, and in each refinery eight workmen are occupied at a monthly wage of 8s. each. On an average, 79 maunds, or 55 cwts., are manufactured monthly. For the first year, it is calculated that after repayment of all ex penses on account of stock, labour, and raw material, there is a profit of ,£34, 14s. ; in the second and following years, the annual profit is estimated at ^82, 10s. 6d. At each refinery, 1572 maunds, or 56 tons 3 cwts., of molasses (giir) will give 474 maunds, or 16 tons 18 cwts., of refined sugar (chini), valued at £497, 14s. It may, therefore, be stated with approximate accuracy that from all the fifty- eight refineries, 27,000 maunds,, or 965 tons, valued at .£28,350, were manufactured during the year 1872-73. Paper is manufactured at two places on the Son, — at Sahir, opposite Arwal, in Gayi District, and at Harfharganj, which with Nasrfganj forms an escheated estate, formerly the property of Bfbf Maula Baksh. At the former place Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton found sixty beaters belonging to forty houses ; but, as at Arwal, on the op posite bank of the river, this industry has greatly declined, the hand made article being'driven from the market by the machine-made paper of Seranipur. The method employed in manufacturing the paper at Harfharganj is thus described by Mr. Eyre : — The material used is tat, or refuse cloth, which costs 2s. a maund* It is first cut up, then beeped, and afterwards washed in the river. It is then mixed with le and carbonate of soda (sajl). The mixture is pounded for V MANUFACTURES. 259 three days in a wooden machine called a dhenki. It is washed again, and then exposed to the sun on brick and plaster platforms con structed for the purpose. It is then again washed, again mixed with lime and saji, and pounded eight times on successive days. After being cleaned, it is now ready for manufacture. The pulp is immersed in a small vat, deep in the centre and slightly shallow at the sides. When thoroughly mixed and stirred up in the water, the operator, sitting at the head of the vat, immerses under the surface a frame of very slender reeds (sink). After three or four such immersions, the water is allowed to run through, and the layer of pulp is flattened. When a sufficient number of sheets have been thus made, the water is pressed out with a weighted press. The sheets of paper are pasted outside on the walls to dry. They are then covered with a coating of gum (lei), and smoothed out with a round stone. Finally, the sheets are cut and bound in half-reams. The whole process is laborious ; and the result of so much time and labour is after all inferior to, and dearer than, the Serampur article. The paper finds a market in Lucknow, Allahdbad, and other up-country towns. In 1872-73, there were twenty-one manufacturers, who produced 1293 reams (gadi) of paper of ten different qualities. The price of a ream varied from 1 8s. to 3s. according to quality. The value of the year's out turn was ^496, 9s. 3d; Each dhenki made, therefore, over 61 reams of paper, valued at ^23, 12s. 9d. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton found that each beater made usually 100 reams of paper of four qualities, the best being valued at 10s. a ream. He estimated the annual profits of each beater at £4, 3s. 6d. Mr. Eyre considers this estimate too small; and shows that each beater might earn ^8 a year, but this would entail an amount of continued exertion that few of them would care to undergo. . Blankets and Carpets are manufactured in the Sdsserdm and Bhabud Subdivisions. The value of woollen and cotton carpets yearly woven in the former Subdivision is estimated at ^500, and that of blankets at ^200. I have no estimate of the quan tity manufactured in Bhabua\ Cotton-carpet weavers are called kolinhofs. The seed is separated from the fibre by chamdrs, who are either paid in kind, receiving one-third of the seed sepa rated, or receive a daily meal. The cotton is spun by women into thread, which they sell to the weaver, at a clear profit of 1 |d. per diem. The stock of a carpet (dhari) maker, consisting of a comb, a knife, a pair of scissors, a wooden frame, and some rope, is valued 260 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. at 2s. 9 ponding twelve months. In 1874 there were registered at Sahibganj, as coming from Shahdbdd, 28,064 maunds of oil seeds, 4403 maunds of sugar, 52 maunds of tobacco, 4121 maunds of wheat, and 25,278 maunds of pulses and gram. In the same year nothing was registered as going to Shahdbdd. The local trade has been'thus described by Mr. Eyre : — The town of Nasrfganj on the S6n owes its commercial prosperity to its trade in timber, bamboos, and rope-fibre, the products of the Kaimur and Paldmau jungles. In 1872-73, 3,900,000 bamboos, valued at .£3900, were floated on rafts down the S6n for Nasrfganj and Patna. These rafts contained also rope to the value of ^200, and a consider able quantity of timber. Lime, which is manufactured at the kilns along the eastern base of the plateau, is not only used on the canal works, but is also largely exported to Tirhut and Patnd. In 1872- 1873, 50,000 maunds, or 1786 tons, valued at ^4000, were sent down the S6n. Grain, oil seeds, and cotton are imported from Chutid Nagpur. Pack-bullocks are used, which cross the Son at Bandii ghdt, and travel along the left bank of the river to Sdsserdm, Dehrf, Ndsrfganj, &c. It is computed that during the cold and dry seasons one hundred bullocks cross the S6n every day. The hard nut, used in dyeing, is exported to Patnd and Bendres. The annual amount is estimated at 8000 maunds, or 286 tons, worth ^1200. Finally, there is at Sdsserdm a large trade in Manchester piece-goods. The mer chants say that they annually import cloth to the value of ^11,150, of which ^7400 worth is consumed locally, and ^3750 is again exported. The Grand Trunk Road enters Shdhdbdd at Dehrf, and, after passing Sdsserdm and Jahdnabdd, leaves the District at Nau- batpur. Piece-goods, grain of all kinds, sugar, betel, forest products, and melted butter are carried along this road, but I have been able to obtain no estimate of the extent of the trade. The chief fairs in this District are held at the following places : — (1) At Barhampur, near the Raghunathpur railway station, in Febru ary and April; (2) at Baxdr, in January; (3) at Zakhanf, pargand Donwar, in April ; (4) at Dhusariyd, pargand Bdrdgdon, in April and October; (5) at Ta.da.ma.ni&n, pargand Arrah, in April and October; (6) at Gadahnf, pargand Pomodr, in February and April ; (7) at Kastar Danwdr, pargand Danwar, in February and April ; (8) at Dhamar, pargand Arrah, in February and April ; (9) at Masdrh, /.zr- gand Arrah, in September and April; (10) at Guptasar, pargand Sds serdm, in February and April. RIVER TRAFFIC STATISTICS. 265 Barhampur Fair. — The following statement. showing the traffic at the Barhampur Fair, is quoted from the Commissioner's Report for the year 1874-75. It may be taken as a fair specimen of the general business done at the fairs throughout Behar : — The number of shops was computed at 880 ; and the value of the goods sold, consisting chiefly of wearing apparel, glass, iron and brass ware, palanquins, sweetmeats, and food, at ^16,331, 6s. The number of horses sold was 1330; and the aggregate value of the horses brought to the fair from Kabul, the Panjdb, Oudh, and the hills, was ^11,181, 16s. Bul locks and buffaloes were also sold to the number of 1 1,151, the aggre gate value being given at ^18,414, 4s., and the average value not much more than ^1, 12s. The sum paid by these shops to the landowners as ground-rent during the fair is given at ^34, 8s., but the Commissioner considers that this amount does not represent the whole profit of the landowners. The practice of presenting to the landowners, as a douceur, a portion of the fruits of every manufactur ing industry, is enforced all over the District. As Mr. Eyre says, the custom is as sacred among the manufacturers of paper or sugar as among the Doms who make baskets. River Traffic Statistics. — Since September 1875, a new system of boat registration has been established on all the great waterways of Bengal, and the returns are published monthly in the Statistical Reporter. The following tables, which have been compiled from that source, show (Table I.) the exports from the District of Shdhdbdd for the six months ending February 1876 ; and (Table II.) the imports into the District during the same period. It must be re membered that the system of registration upon which these figures are based does not include the traffic of ShdhdMd with the North- Western Provinces. Some statistics of the Baxar trade will be given separately on a later page, pp. 268, 269. From these tables it appears that the total of the exports during the six months in Class I. (articles registered by weight only) amounted to 179,61 1 maunds, or 6575 tons, of which pulses and gram formed 32 per cent., linseed 21 per cent., and wheat and "other cereals" 18 per cent each. The total of the imports in the same class amounted to only 46,227 maunds, or 1692 tons, being little more than one-fourth of the exports. The chief items were, — rice and "other cereals," 29 per cent. each; salt, 24 per cent.; and fresh fruits and vegetables, 8 per cent. In Class II. (articles registered by number only) the most noteworthy items are — an export of [Sentence continued on page 268.] 266 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SIIAHABAD DISTRICT. Statistics of the River Traffic of ShAhabad District for the Six Months ending February 1876. — Table L (Exports). - i i £• | 6 a ■ Description ot Good*. ■ 6 i TouL > \c 9 O ■ 1 1 0 z a l-l u. Class I. llmmtdi. Itmm-dl. \la**ds Maunds. Mannds Maunds. MmwUi Cotton . . . . 3 25 ... 2? Chemicals and medicines . '59 5o 209 Red earth .... 32 32 Indigo-seed 220 220 Fuel and firewood . 300 1,220 1,520 Fresh fruits and vegetables 225 225 Wheat . . . . .1.279 7.3*8 5,'3' 9,268 3,387 3,493 3',886 Pulses and gram ".'54 9,76' 18,125 '3,592 3, '26 1,760 57,5'S Rice 105 2,190 2,295 Paddy .... 1,100 1,100 Other cereals 2,854 2: 1,884 I,l62 90 4,3'o 32,363 Fibres, manufactures of 106 106 Hides . 5o 50 Iron "128 35 2 165 Lime and limestone . 450 450 Stone .... 404 1,040 830 395 2,669 Chi 29 86 8 27 1 '5' Linseed .... 20,101 12,847 2,181 847 ',095 37,071 Mustard-seed 33' 507 75 Castor-oil-seed . 3'S 20 33§ Poppy-seed 299 320 IOO 1,666 2,385 Spices and condiments 41 24 127 '95 Saline substances 5o 608 212 54 924 Sugar, refined . 410 937 356 no 106 1,9i9 Do., unrefined . 520 25,70 "5 17 243 53' 4,006 Tobacco .... *i 99 '94 88 12 64 538 Liquor .... 4 4 Miscellaneous . "96 22 169 '4 30 33' Total . . 40,So7 56,943 29,825 26,622 10,321 '5,093 1 79.61 1 Class II. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Timber .... 720 55° 11 1,281 Bamboos .... 107,600 298,000 117,700 234,165 757,465 Cocoa-nuts . "850 850 Gunny-bags 1,600 1,600 Miscellaneous . 2,781 5" 4,000 7,292 Class III. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Leather manufactures 1,420 1,420 Woollen do. ",432 400 11,832 C"tton (Native) do. . ',759 23,99o 6,610 '75 1,200 33.734 Miscellaneous(Native)goodi 77' 1,025 ',796 Do. (European) do. 43 43 Miscellaneous . 475 475 Total . '.759 37,3'7 7,053 946 2,225 49,3oo RIVER TRADE. 267 Statistics of the River Traffic of Shahabad District for the Six Months ending February 1875. — Table II. (Imports). September. V October. U s s * I1 Description ot Goods. V 3 3 Total. 0 a 8 V n V Q b. Class I. Maunis. Maunds. Maunds. Maunds. Maunds. Maunds. Maunds. Cotton .... 5 5 Chemicals and medicines . II 4 15 Indigo .... iS 18 Fresh f*uits and vegetables 1,072 2,342 3.414 Wheat .... 70 70 Pulses and gram 200 200 Rice .... 200 350 520 2,027 1,385 9,146 13.628 Paddy .... 24 375 624 1,023 Other cereals . 3,662 2,456 5.425 1,820 13,363 Jute 22 ... 22 Fibres, manufactures of . 21 20 41 Hides .... 55 55 Linseed .... 25 25 Salt 1,803 50 20 9.529 11,402 Other saline substances 340 245 70 51 706 Spices and condiments 160 32 100 26 318 Sugar, refined . 34 34 Tobacco .... 400 554 220 150 1.324 Miscellaneous . 2 190 180 52 140 564 Total 2,556 1,346 5.J06 15.478 9,862 11,879 46,227 Class II. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Goats and sheep 8 8 Timber "3 575 39 20 525 1,272 Cocoa-nuts 29,200 200 29,400 Gunny-bags 80 80 Miscellaneous . 20 '4 300 "128 462 Class III. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Leather, and its manu factures 900 900 Woollen manufactures ... 300 300 Cotton (Native) manufac tures .... 200 120 320 Miscellaneous do. goods . 1,800 664 2,464 Do. (European) do. 30 310 340 Total ... ! 30 2,300 1.994 4,324 1 268 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. [Stntrnct ctmtiniud from page 265. ] 757,465 bamboos, and an import of 29,400 cocoa-nuts, almost all in the month of September. Under Class III. (articles registered by value only) the most important feature is the entire absence of European cotton goods from both tables. The exports show a total value of Rs. 49,300 (^4930), of which cotton native manufactures constitute 68 per cent., and woollen manufactures 24 per cent., both chiefly in October. The total value of the imports was Rs. 4324 (jo432, 8s.), only one-eleventh of the exports; the chief item was miscellaneous native goods, 57 per cent. The total trade in food grains for the eight months, September 1875 to April 1876, may be thus analysed : — Exports — wheat, 33,335 maunds ; pulses and gram, 58,620 ; rice, 2795 ; paddy, 1100 ; other cereals, 32,363 — total exports, 128,213 maunds. Imports — Wheat, 70 maunds; pulses and gram, 218 ; rice, 27.514; paddy, 2273 ; other cereals, 13,743 — total imports,43,818 maunds, showing a surplus of exports amounting to 84,395 maunds, or 3089 tons. It will be observed that wheat figures largely in the exports, and rice in the imports. In the month of December, out of a total export of 9268 maunds of wheat, the mart of Sinhd sent 4466 maunds, and Chausa 1 2 18. In the two months of November and December, out of a total export of 31,717 maunds of pulses and gram, Sinhd sent 12,120 maunds; Barhewd, 11,098; Kdpd Chhaprd, 1630; Sapahi, 1038. During the three months, February to April, 23,032 maunds of rice were imported, of which 2295 maunds came from Oudh and the North-West, 16,446 from Bengal, and 4291 from other districts of Behar. The principal importing marts were Sinhd, 11,839 maunds ; Baxdr, 2643 ; Dhusuria, 1947. The December number of the Statistical Reporter contains an article upon the " Trade of Baxar," from which the following para graphs are condensed : — In September 1875 a registration station was established at Baxdr, on the road to the ghdt, to catch the traffic that came to and left the river at that place. By far the greater part of such traffic is ascertained to consist of consignments to or from Ghazfpur, which are here transferred from the river to the rail, or vice versa. The total registered exports from Baxdr during the seven months, September 1875 to March 1876, amounted to 147,331 maunds in quantity, and Rs. 1,832,642 in value. The principal items were : refined sugar, 38,820 maunds, valued at Rs.465,840 ; cotton, 25,887 maunds or Rs.388,305 ; European piece-goods, Rs. CAPITAL AND INTEREST. 269 199,242 ; salt, 35,686 maundsox R.178,430; unrefined sugar, 35,155 maundsox Rs. 140,620 ; cattle, 7446 in number, valued at Rs.223,380. The imports into Baxdr during the same period of seven months amounted to 74,649 maunds or Rs.863,246. The principal items were : refined sugar, 35,429 maundsox Rs.425,148 ; European piece- goods, Rs.87,087 ; food grains (chiefly rice), 20,747 maunds or Rs.39,837 ; cattle, 3695 in number, or Rs. 110,850 in value ; horses, &c., 1306 in number, or Rs.65,300 in value. Railway Traffic Statistics. — The Statistical Reporter also pub lishes returns, furnished by the East India Railway Company, show ing the export from Howrah of salt and piece-goods into the several Districts of Bengal. The following are the figures for Shdhabdd, station by station, for the four months, January to April 1876: — Salt — Arrah, 33,425 maunds; Bihfyd, 6822; Raghundthpur, 2162; Dumraon, 4074; Baxdr, 11,587 — total of salt, 58,070 maunds, or 2126 tons, worth ^29,035 at the rate of Rs.5 per maund, as compared with nil imported during the same four months by river. European piece- goods — Arrah, 3101 maunds; Bihfyd, 891; Raghunathpur, 2878; Dumraon, 2203; Baxdr, 1090; Chausd, 41; Gahmar, 10 — total of piece-goods, 10,214 maunds, or 374 tons, worth ^122,568 at the estimated value of Rs. 1 20 per maund, as compared with nil imported during the same four months by river. Capital, according to the Collector, is accumulating in Shdhdbdd District; and all that is not invested in trade or loans, or in the erection of temples or markets in the principal towns, is being hoarded. The rate of interest in petty loans, when the borrower pawns some small article (such as an ornament or household vessel), is reported to be 24 per cent. per annum. In large transactions, or when a mort gage is given upon houses or lands, the rate is 1 2 per cent. For petty advances to the cultivators, the rate varies, with the necessity of the borrower, from 24 to 48 per cent. per annum. Money-lending is con ducted not only by the village shopkeepers and grain merchants, but also by the landowners. Ninety per cent. of the cultivating classes are supposed to be in debt ; and unless some radical change is made in their relations with the landowners, they are never likely to free themselves from the burden. Six per cent. would be considered a fair return for money invested in an estate. In Dr. Buchanan-Hamil ton's time there were only two banking establishments in the Dis trict, both at Arrah. They were branches of two houses at Patnd, and possessed unlimited credit. The number of native banks has ^ ^rr df SHAH'?.- - zzzrz:— ; 0 0 J 5 '• z a tt <0 « C - 5 «M " If *iulJtr tr -. I - - - - o < i * - ~ — I = ■ * # » J- ' ^ Tbeit faun Si -t snath of i f -- -o — *» of 31.717 matmJt o: maundi ; bztixwi, 11,098; ■:.-..: imported, of which West, 16,446 from Bei Tne principal import Jiazir, 2643 ; Dhusurii, 1947 J .. .• December number oi - it article upon the " Trade of 1 ;;r.j;.!js are condensed: — In tablished at Baxir, on 1 a •-. that came to and left the^r - part of such traffic is asc - - from Ghazfpur, which a.' -: nr vice vend. The tot seven months, Sept' 1 1 7,33 1 muunds in , miimii, js,^7 »'■' >3 5 I b s £ '■ Post-OfficeRemittances5.314o .. 8.Schools60Vernacular o ...... GeneralChargesGeneraloftheDepartment 7.94 . £167,277,RevenueItemsNos.andshouldbededucted,leavingtotalof6s.findtheTonet53a shoulddeducted,Expenditure^25,046,beleavingItemNo.oftotalfindthe6s.Tonet9a 16JudicialChargesGeneral 13,4142...... 4,988GeneralRevenueCharges23...... SuperintendentofStamps53111.10 £25,15118Total .... 5,065RoadCessFund121. ProfitandLoss105129. Miscellaneous16 10.2 ...... 278Interest 124. 3816.Pension 14 LandRevenue141,7344o1. MiscellaneousRevenueSaytr10,9042o2.or .... 462ProfitandLoss 4o3. 586RemittancePost-Office14o 4. 2S8ofRecordsCommittee6. o 16SuperintendentofStamps9,127o7. VernacularofSchools8.DepositAccount312oon . 4,690FundCessRoad10o9. j£i67,739 IOo byLandRevenueDedueBalancePermanent 5. Total faulters200 ...... > Z- '. i r =2r -tb-skt -— ".--~- r - -'-.-■'1. X-if r.— .'vJnn*: tt ^EElE JUBT , .^ . .-.»-• •, - » :_- .1 x* ~ ■" x^ik. nit miiiiw name *be ,..,„ . -. ^ _,' . v i ^_ ': i Tsalr ^jbsd, ■ iminnnr rf-T^m*- ,„M , ..-..- j--,>n -r ::.- irr pasi aiiL Hujtp-bw -rilajs i* nc ^■■rr< " .* ;rfv—-j- rrvn ::xt launr pan: *rae ac spar ir ac .Know w' DC- iJ'j:''!'C ,J- i"1 i^uu^ anc up ai.rminH «nts5ma ^ REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. 271 . him to show the manner in which this property was managed. latter grant, on the other hand, was regarded as a charitable jwment, and the manager was expected to keep an account of way in which the funds were expended. The annual cost of the blishment, which was fixed at £100, and the other expenses, e to be checked by a local committee. But there have been stant disputes between the manager and the committee, and the :ter is still unsettled. The manager for the time being, who st be a descendant of Kabfr Darwesh, is called Sujjddah nishln, " the Sitter on the Carpet." He is nominated by his predecessor the presence of the chief Muhammadan gentry of the place, ~ose signatures attesting the fitness of the nominee are attached to paper called the mahzarndmd. It is asserted that this custom ows the right of the Muhammadan community to eject an un- orthy person ; but there is no record of their ever having exercised uch a right, and a descendant of Kabfr has always been the manager ■p to the present time. There are, at present, about twelve disciples morid) in Sasserdm, and as many more in the outlying villages, and "here are five applicants for the managership of the property. The movement instituted by Munshl Piarf Lil, a native of ShaTia- bd.d, for reducing the marriage expenses of the Kayasth caste, which has been referred to in the Statistical Account of Gaya {ante, p. 77), has not produced any marked results in this District. There are no newspapers printed or published in Shdhabid. Revenue and Expenditure. — The following tables exhibit the revenue and expenditure of ShaTiibid District for the three years 1790-91, 1849-50, and 1870-71. I print them as furnished by the Collector ; but variations in the method of keeping the accounts, and in crediting or debiting various items to the local treasury, greatly impair the value of such tables for comparative purposes. It is only in the case of Land Revenue, for which the figures are given in detail in a subsequent paragraph, that any real compa rison can be instituted. So far as the means are available for dis tinguishing the gross from the net totals, by eliminating all matters of account and imperial charges, it would appear that the net District Revenue has increased from £101,851 in 1790-91 to .£167,277 in 1849-50, and to £233,978 in 1870-71; while the net District Expenditure has similarly grown from £5627 in 1790-91 to ,£25,046 in 1849-50, and to £44,158 in 1870-71. 270 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. now increased, but no European bank has any branch in Shahabad District. Institutions. — The Collector reports that there is a relief insti tution in the town of Arrah, at the Maula Bdgh, supported by two rent-free villages, the proceeds from which are devoted to charity and towards keeping up certain Muhammadan ceremonies ; and another in the Sasseram Division, supported from the Sasseram endowment fund. This fund also supports a Persian school. The following history of the Sdsseram fund is taken from an account given by Mr. J. P. Ward, who was Collector of Shahabad District in 1865, supplemented by a report by Mr. S. S. Jones, the Subdivi- sional Officer of Sasserdm, dated April 1876. The endowment was first established about 1 7 18 a.d., by the Emperor Farrakhsiyyar, who granted to one Kabfr Darwesh, the abbot of a monastic institution, called the khdnkdh, at Sasserdm, a lakh of dams, equivalent to ,£120, being the revenues of twenty-one villages in pargana Sas serdm, to defray the expenses of the institution. The endowment was subsequently enriched by a similar grant of 281,000 dams, equivalent to ^300 (being the revenues of thirty-five more villages), by the Emperor Shall Alam, in whose sariad, or deed of gift, it is expressly stated, that the object of the grant was not only to provide for the expenses of the khdnkdh, but also for the support of tra vellers. Besides this property, which was made over by royal grant to Kabfr Darwesh and his descendants, thirty-six more villages were made over to the endowment by hukaml grants, that is, by various nobles, till in the time of Khaiyam-ud-dfn, the fourth manager of the institution, there were ninety-two rent-free villages in the possession of the endowment. But this property soon dwindled away, and at Khaiydm-ud-dm's death only thirteen villages remained. Then followed a dispute about the succession to the managership, and also about the property, which had been defined by the High Court in 1824 as a trust. Eventually, one Mohi-ud-dfn, a descendant of the original grantee, was confirmed in the office ; and in 1868, rules were framed by Mr. Jenkins, the Commissioner, to ensure the proper management of the fund. At that time, the annual income was assumed tobe^ioi2, 12s. (it is really ^2000), consisting of twenty- one villages given by the first grant, and thirty-five villages by the second. The proceeds from the former grant were set apart for the ort of the dignity of the abbot, and no accounts were required REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. 271 from him to show the manner in which this property was managed. The latter grant, on the other hand, was regarded as a charitable endowment, and the manager was expected to keep an account of the way in which the funds were expended. The annual cost of the establishment, which was fixed at .£100, and the other expenses, were to be checked by a local committee. But there have been constant disputes between the manager and the committee, and the matter is still unsettled. The manager for the time being, who must be a descendant of Kabfr Darwesh, is called Sujj&dah nishin, or " the Sitter on the Carpet." He is nominated by his predecessor in the presence of the chief Muhammadan gentry of the place, whose signatures attesting the fitness of the nominee are attached to a paper called the mahzarn&md. It is asserted that this custom shows the right of the Muhammadan community to eject an un worthy person ; but there is no record of their ever having exercised such a right, and a descendant of Kabfr has always been the manager up to the present time. There are, at present, about twelve disciples (morid) in Sasserdm, and as many more in the outlying villages, and there are five applicants for the managership of the property. The movement instituted by Munshf Pidrf L4I, a native of Shdha- bdd, for reducing the marriage expenses of the Kdyasth caste, which has been referred to in the Statistical Account of Gayd {ante, p. 77), has not produced any marked results in this District. There are no newspapers printed or published in Shdhabid. Revenue and Expenditure. — The following tables exhibit the revenue and expenditure of Shdhdbid District for the three years 1790-91, 1849-50, and 1870-71. I print them as furnished by the Collector ; but variations in the method of keeping the accounts, and in crediting or debiting various items to the local treasury, greatly impair the value of such tables for comparative purposes. It is only in the case of Land Revenue, for which the figures are given in detail in a subsequent paragraph, that any real compa rison can be instituted. So far as the means are available for dis tinguishing the gross from the net totals, by eliminating all matters of account and imperial charges, it would appear that the net District Revenue has increased from ,£101,851 in 1790-91 to £167,277 in 1849-50, and to £233,978 in 1870-71; while the net District Expenditure has similarly grown from £5627 in 1790-91 to £25,046 in 1849-50, and to £44,158 in 1870-71. :72 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. •^ O O O O 0 o o o o o o o o o *© o N 00 vo vo vo o H MM M M Q c* *n C* 4n 0 ^ ro E O rO rO ON S^ i-^ ^- ti■ *£ o. O U"i ». N vO oo~ rf m m 4 cR V N •5 - c d g . . . • o • ■ u o • • *~ c „ 2 •§ u § e " e "1st p 1 1 aU .1 • wv o u • • ■ oo _ 5 ■a ^ * n WAdilat, or Establishiei Allowanceof o o = M iuiContract esidentPaat miission on ft. Champain P K [rDuncan . v*- til w ordinary 0 csident w O c 6 H s — ofC w 5 | v. *. m i• V v v .p eiit oirr oii [oiet; In aid - S S c ^ - ^: _: j: i C e, x u U 2 U yuu- M ri «*i« vd tC od cf* d - -wjOOOOOOO o .vc — ■ « o o « * 00 ** M M M - $££83^? i^^ O ^ **"* r*> •" " mc* - oc" ov rf 0 - c - d - 3 M u t „ 0 fe > te s - St is C - . * 5 S = m ^ - £■ . !- J t i i— . c-M — - « C 5- ^- > 5 » ^• C = ,£ Tt a ^ * _« > r t ~ s m W ,~ V- i^ o t^. >3 1 d.£ '■ ChargesGeneraloftheDepartment7.940 . theRevenueItemsNos.andshouldbededucted,£167,277,Tofindleavingtotalof6s.net53a ShAhabadExpenditureDistrictYear1849-50.Revenue andofofthefor Expenditure. shoulddeducted,ExpenditurebeleavingItemNo.£25,046,findthetotalofTo6s.net9a Total£25,15118 0 .... £d. '. byRevenueDe-BalancedueLandPermanent5. VernacularSchoolsof8.DepositAccount3120on . Revenue. MiscellaneousRevenueSayer210,90402.or .... £167,739Total 100 .... 462ProfitandLoss 403. < 374 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. ; vc O O O* rO t** M t^vO O WOvO C*vO *0 O . nvO O* ^t*v0 *000 f~ i^ m r*i*0 ^*vO « 00 to r*> **• in w^ ^ Ov00 mr^ON^QSJO*"-— a. ? B H 5 z I S X i a- H £ J 3 il S a >3 a x .-! •< . r^ I— ( =: = JS •< j c a ,2-j i - a. a t- . *- i : — i m BX E° « i o u 8«. "i— = 7, — c: J c " — O o 5. u i55 x £ £ w « Aw S £ o £ :^h i- ei to *f uSvd r^oo Ov ci — n ro *f *™o i^- ~-vOvO^O 0 O Ov 0 O *0 ^ COoO **vO oo ■*vo in ■* m ^ i-T rove ro ri *? ^ *A i-T J 8 V. H >u u .(* ■ C • -^ :.. Wr i !£s S3C o (2 IIs ■r .Z *i M *■< F tr> Ii i ~ 0.2 X ,j pn .£ t/j hJ p- 2 POLICE STATISTICS. 275 The Land-Tax forms the principal item of revenue in this Dis trict, as in the rest of Bengal; and the amount collected has increased from .£97,508 in 1790 to £17 1,320 (Budget estimate) in 187 1. Sub division of estates does not seem so prevalent as in other parts of Behar, the number of estates having only doubled since the earliest time for which any figures exist. The number in 1790 was 2330, and in 1871, 4669. Proprietors, however, have increased in a much more rapid ratio — from 1287 in 1790 to 21,177 >n 1870-71. In 1800, the number of estates was 2330, held by 1287 proprietors or coparceners, paying a land-revenue of ^103. 887, equivalent to a sum of ,£41, 10s. per estate, and ^80, 14s. per proprietor. In 1850, these figures were as follow : — Number of estates, 3467 ; number of proprietors, 13,868 ; land-revenue, £140,806; average sum paid by each estate, £40, 12s.; average sum paid by each proprietor, £10, 2s. In 1871, according to the Budget estimate, there were 4669 estates borne on the District rent-roll, held by 21,177 proprietors or coparceners, who paid a total land-revenue of .£171,320; equal to .£36, 12s, per estate, and £8 per proprietor. Income-Tax. — Under Act XVI. of 1870, by which an income-tax at the rate of t,\ per cent, was levied on all incomes above .£50, the total collections in Shahdbad amounted to £141583, 2s. In the following year, when the tax was reduced to i^j per cent, and the limit of exemption was raised to £75, the collections amounted to £3903, 1 6s. Protection to Person and Property. — There appears to be no increase under this head of late years. In 1860-61, there were nine Magisterial and sixteen Civil and Revenue Courts in the District ; in 1870-71, the number of Magisterial Courts had decreased to eight, and the Civil and Revenue Courts to thirteen. There were five covenanted European officers stationed in the District throughout the year in 1860-61, and four in 1870-71. Police Statistics. — For police purposes, the District of Shahi- bid is divided into eleven police circles (thdnds) : — viz. (1) Arrah, (2) Belautf, and (3) Pfru, in the Sadr Subdivision; (4) Baxar, (5) Dumrion, and (6) Chausi, in the Baxir Subdivision ; (7) Dhangion, (8) Nonkhd, and (9) Sasserdm in the Sasserdm Subdivision; (10) Bhabua with Chand, and (n) Rdmgarh in the Bhabua" Subdivision. The machinery for protecting person and property consists of the Regular or District Police, the Village Watch or Rural Force, and a Municipal Police for municipalities. 276 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAH AD AD DISTRICT. Regular Police. — In 1872, the strength of the Regular Police was as follows. The figures are taken from the Bengal Police Report for that year : — Three superior European Officers, consist ing of a District Superintendent of Police and two Assistant-Superin tendents, receiving a total salary of Rs. 1200 a month, or ^1440 per annum; six subordinate officers, on a salary of upwards of Rs. 100 a month, or ^120 a year, and eighty-eight officers on less than Rs. 100 a month, maintained at a total cost of Rs. 2930 a month, or ^3516 a year, showing an average pay of Rs. 31-2-8 a month, or ^37, 8s. id. a year for each subordinate officer; 4 mounted, and 414 foot constables, maintained at a total cost of Rs. 2776 a month, or ^3331, 4s. a year, showing an average pay of Rs. 7 a month, or £%, 8s. a year, for each mounted constable, and Rs. 6-10 a month, or £7, 19s. a year, for each foot constable. The other expenses connected with the Regular Police in 1872 were — a sum of Rs. 175 a month, or ^210 per annum, allowed for travelling charges of the superior officers; Rs. 285-12 a month, or ^342, 1 8s. a year, for pay and travelling allowances of their office establishments ; Rs. 72 a month, or ^86, 8s. a year, for horse allow ance ; and Rs. 686-13-4 a month, or ^824, 4s. a year, for contin gencies, and all other expenses ; bringing up the total cost of the Regular Police of Shahdbad, which consisted of a total strength of 5 15 officers and men, to Rs. 8125-9-4 a month, or ^9750, 14s. a year. The Census of 1872 returns the area of the District at 4385 square miles, and the population at 1,723,974. According to these figures, the total strength of the Regular Police force is one man to every 8-50 square miles of the District area, or one man to every 3347 of the population. The cost of maintenance is equal to £2, 4s. 5^d. per square mile of area, or 1 Jd. per head of the population. The Municipal Police maintained in the towns and large villages consisted in 1872 of 7 officers and 257 men, maintained at a cost of Rs. 1407-10-8 a month, or ^1689, 4s. a year, defrayed by means of rates levied from the householders and shopkeepers carry ing on business within municipal limits. The eight following towns — Arrah, Sasseram, Dumraon, Baxar, Jagdispur, Bhojpur, Ndrayanganj, and Bhabua, which have been constituted municipalities, contain a total population of 118,413 souls. This figure gives 3 id. as the average cost of the municipal police per head of the town popula tion. The Rural Police, or chaukiddrs, for the watch and ward of the CRIMINAL STATISTICS. 277 villages in the interior of the District, consisted in 1872 of 6185 men, maintained by contributions from the villagers and rent-free grants of land, at an estimated total cost, including both sources, of Rs. 7949-5-4 a month, or ^9539, 4s. a year, showing an average stipend in money or lands of Rs. 1-4-6 a month, or £i, 10s. iod. a year for each man. Each village watchman has, on an average, 70 houses under his charge. According to the area and population given above, there is one village watchman to every 70 of a square mile, or one to every 278 of the population, maintained at a cost of £2, 3s. 6d. per square mile, or about 1 \&. per head of the population. Including, therefore, the Regular Police, the Municipal Police, and the Village Watch, the machinery for protecting person and property in the District of Shdhdbad consisted in 1872 of a total force of 6964 officers and men, equal to an average of one man to every .63 square mile as compared with the area, or one man to every 247 souls as compared with the population. The aggregate cost of this force in 1872 was Rs. 17,482-9-8 a month, or ^20,979, 2s. a year, equal to a charge of ^4, 15s. 8d. per square mile, or nearly 3d. per head of the population. Criminal Statistics. — During the year 1872, the police con ducted 3018 "cognisable" cases, the percentage of final convic tions to persons brought to trial being S2-56 percent.; and 1350 "non-cognisable" cases, in which the proportion of convictions to prisoners brought to trial was 41 -i9 per cent. The total number of both " cognisable " and " non-cognisable " cases was 4368, the percentage of final convictions to persons brought to trial in both classes of crime being 46-87 per cent. During 1872, there were 9 cases of ddkditi in Shdhdbdd District, as against 12 in the previ ous year. Thirty-four persons were arrested, of whom 1 1 were re leased by the Magistrate, and 23 were put upon their trial. Sixteen persons were finally convicted by the Sessions Court. The Commis sioner of the Patnd Division considers the results to be on the whole satisfactory, and adds that even this percentage of convictions is likely to prove a check upon the crime. With the exception of cattle-theft, the crime statistics of ShdhdMd for 1872 do not call for any detailed remarks. This offence shows a decrease from 12r cases in 187 1 to 79 in the year under notice, an improvement which is said to be due to a more searching inquiry after the bad characters who regularly engage in stealing cattle. Fifty-one convictions obtained in 187 1, and 34 in 1872, also probably acted as a deterrent. But the Commissioner is of 278 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAH AB AD DISTRICT. opinion thatsolongas cattle-theft is recognised by the people as part of an organised system for levying black-mail, only a small proportion of the cases that actually occur will be reported, and the success of the police in stamping out the crime will be small. Although Shdhdbdd is notorious for its professional thieves, and contains no less than 21,383 of the well-known criminal caste of Binds, the amount of crime actually committed within the District must be admitted to be small. This is said to arise from a peculiar characteristic of the criminal classes of Shdhdbad, that they prefer to commit their depre dations at some distance from their own neighbourhood. Thus in 187 1, a series of ddkditis were committed in Lower Bengal by a party of Binds from Shahdbad and Ghazfpur in the North-Western Pro vinces, who returned to their homes to dispose of their plunder quietly. The reputation of the Binds as professional freebooters is so wide-spread, that when caught on any of their expeditions they usually describe themselves as belonging to some other caste. Of late years, these systematic excursions have been effectively dealt with by watch ing the Binds in their own homes, and reporting all their movements to the police authorities of the villages they are likely to visit. Jail Statistics. — In 1870 there were four jails in Shdhdbdd, viz., the principal jail at the Civil Station of Arrah, and Subdivisional lock-ups at Sdsseram, Baxdr, and Bhabud. The following are the statistics of the jail population of the District for the years 1860-61, 1870, and 1872. In the year 1860-61, the first year for which materials are avail able, the daily average number of prisoners in the jail and Sub- divisional lock-ups was 375 ; the total number of criminal, civil, and under-trial prisoners admitted during the year being 1437. The discharges were as follow: — Transferred, 214; released, 981; escaped, 1; died, 11o; executed, 1 — total, 1307. In 1870, the daily average number of prisoners in jail was 389 ; the total admissions of the year being 1766. The discharges were: — Transferred, 85; released, 1451; escaped, 6; died, 9 — total, 1551. In 1872, the jail figures are as follow: — Average daily number of prisoners, 411 -52 — total number of prisoners admitted during the year, 1687. The discharges were : — Transferred, 613 ; released, 1057; escaped, 4; executed, 1; died, 13— total, 1688. The sanitary condition of the Shahdbad jail has much improved of late years. In 1860-61 the percentage of admissions into hos pital amounted to i5o-i3, and the deaths numbered no less than JAIL STATISTICS. 279 1 10 or 2a-33 per cent. of the average jail population. In 1870, the ratio of prisoners admitted into hospital had fallen to 94-85 per cent. ; while the deaths fell to 9, or 2-31 per cent. of the mean jail population. In 1872, the number of admissions into hospital further decreased to 6507 percent.; while the deaths rose to 14, or 3-3i per cent. of the average prison population. Cost of Jail Maintenance. — The average cost of maintenance per prisoner in the Shahdbad jail and lock-ups, including rations, establishment, hospital charges, clothing, contingencies, and all other charges except the cost of the prison police guard, is returned as follows : — In 1860-61, it was Rs. 39-13-3 (^3, 19s. 8d.)per head; in 1870, Rs. 48-0-8 (£4, 16s. id.) per head. The cost of the jail police guard in 1870 amounted to an average of Rs. 9-3-10 (18s. 6d.) per head, making a gross cost to Government for that year of Rs. 57-4-6 (j£s, 14s. 7d.) per head. Materials are not available for showing the separate cost of the jail police guard in 1860-61. The Inspector-General of Jails, in his report for 1870, returns the total cost of the Shdhdbdd jail and Subdivisional lock-ups, including police guard, at Rs. 18,587-6-1 (^1858, 14s. 9d.). Excluding cost of police guard, which is included in the general police budget of the District, the cost of the jail amounted to Rs. 14,992-0-3 (^1499, 4s.). In 1872, the cost of the jail and lock-ups, including police guard, amounted to Rs. 23,745-8-7 (^2374, 11s. id.), and excluding police guard, to Rs. 19,837-3-7 (^1983, 14s. 5d.). Jail Manufactures have been carried on in the Shdhdbdd jail since 1843. In 1860-61 the total credits arising from jail manu factures, including sales, value of articles consumed for public pur poses, and value of manufactured articles remaining in store at the end of. the year, amounted to Rs. 6683-14-5 (^668, 7s. 9d.) ; the debits, including value of manufactured articles and raw material in store at the end of the previous year, purchase of plant and machinery, and all charges incurred during the year, amounted to Rs. 5843-14-4 (^584, 7s. 9d.); excess of credits over debits or profit, Rs. 840 (^84); average earnings by each prisoner employed on manufactures, Rs. 3-4-10 (6s. 7d.). In 1870, the total credits arising from jail manufactures were Rs. 13,326 G£'332, I2s.), tne debits amounted to Rs. 12,138-11-5 (^1213, 17s. 5d.); excess of credits over debits or profit, Rs. 1 187-4-7 (j£ii8, 14s. 7d.); average earnings by each prisoner employed on manufactures, Rs. 8-6-8 (16s. iod.). In 1872, the total credits aris 278 STA T/ST/CAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRIC opinion that so long as cattle-theft is recognised by the people aiS.,^ of an organised system for levying black-mail, only a small prop . of the cases that actually occur will be reported, and the succes1 _. _ police in stamping out the crime will be small. Although SV * ^ . is notorious for its professional thieves, and contains no _ •^e> 21,383 of the well-known criminal caste of Binds, the K /* > * « crime actually committed within the District must be adr small. This is said to arise from a peculiar characte *^ ■*■■.,; criminal classes of Shahibad, that they prefer to coram' dations at some distance from their own neighbourly '-< ^ *- ... 1871, a series of ddkditls were committed in Lower B'^ ■"-:- ._ > . of Binds from Shahabad and Ghdzfpur in the Nor vinces, who returned to their homes to dispose quietly. The reputation of the Binds as profession? ~\-.., wide-spread, that when caught on any of their expe< describe themselves as belonging to some other c '--.-^ rffc"» these systematic excursions have been effectively -.. -. <> -V^ ing the Binds in their own homes, and reportin' to the police authorities of the villages they ar ^ "•"-. Jail Statistics. — In 1870 there were four the principal jail at the Civil Station of A * . -" lock-ups at Sasseram, BaxaY, and Bhabua. <^5;'-''"Ss> v*: statistics of the jail populatio-n of the Distri v ;. ."■* <; ;"'•-.•« "V . 1870, and 1872. _. ^ < j. ~c . In the year 1860-61, the first year for ":-\;. v.< .*"*. .. ""■*«■./" able, the daily average number of prif -: ^ ^ *'< ,m "■•._ . ** divisional lock-ups was 375 ; the total n '^A.^ ":? i •*» «, " * <». under-trial prisoners admitted during *>.% « S. discharges were as follow : — Tranf '^".v escaped, 1; died, no; executed, J (fc^<: ^-...^4. daily average number of prisoner ** "$ «. '"-v .*'"*>■. admissions of the year being i'^s,. c ^ *«".", ^ '^r Transferred, 85; released, 1451; r* Of _ <-/ *> In 1872, the jail figures are as <>f,-. ^5 . ■"/ *^V of prisoners, 41152 — total num. £>. ^ ot.^>i/^^ the year, 1687. The discharges ; h ^ ^ c'e ;'*'e^ 1057; escaped, 4 ; executed, ij; \ 4> /tff'Sf'* The sanitary condition of th.';^ ^ '*<> ^ of late years. In 1860-61 tht1^ '*? rJs.jJ** pital amounted to 150-13, anfi'V ^ r*'*.*6 .M. '3&Pcr ^r^^ -***->•- ~ » A£ 1 fl ^ "* :-.- *Z «. * 1 ,<^>J** ■ m • C) *_ • V - s I o« ' ^ l 5- g 8 5 ■* y"l p m •*■ - 00 : ■ ~ 0 &■ " r» - L m -c * » * ^J- O ^3 I? 3Pi . = s gS « • £ g s 2 E-g || ■§ ■si 9 -^ ia 2» g.3 o O < P <*. 2 So STA TISTICAL ACCOUXT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. ing from jail manufactures amounted to Rs. 8194-9-8 (^£819, 9s. 2d), and the debits to Rs. 7797-15-9 0^779, 15s. nd.); excess of credits over debits or profit, Rs. 396-9-1 1 (^39, 13s. 3d.) ; avenge earnings of each prisoner employed on manufac tures, Rs. 2-6-8 (43. rod.). The average number of prisoners employed on prison manufactures in Shlhibid Jail in 1872 was 16382, made up as follows : — Gunny-weaving, 1656; gardening, 48-45; manufacturing clothing, 19-49; manufacturing bricks, &c, 5-07; oil-pressing, 737; flour-grounding, 967 ; manufacturing car pets, &c, 37-26; carpentering, *6S; manufacturing blankets, 10-20; ironwork, 0-14; thread-spinning, 8-73. Education has made Utile progress in Shahabid, as is the case generally throughout Behar. The number of Government and aided schools increased from eight in 1856-57 to thirteen in 1870-71, and the number of pupils in the same period from 354 to 589. The greater part of the cost of education in the first two years was defrayed by Government. In 1856-57, out of a total cost of j£397! os. 6d- for education, Government paid ^320, 7s. 7d. In 1S60-61 the total cost of education in the Government and aided schools amounted to ^420, is. ;&, of which ^347, 16s. nd. was paid by the State. In 1870-71, out of a total cost of ,£1089, 9s. 7d., the Government contribution amounted to ^544, 16s. 2d. The comparative table on the opposite page, compiled from the Reports of the Education Department for 1856-57, 1860-61, and 1870-71, exhibits the number of Government and aided schools in the Dis trict in each of these years, the number of pupils attending them, the cost of education to Government, and the amount defrayed by fees or from private sources. Progress of Primary Education-. — The foregoing account of education relates only to the years 1856-57, 1S60-61, and 1870-71. In 1871-72, the number of Government and aided schools was 47, and rose in 1872-73 to 207 ; the number of pupils increased from 1572 to 4173, while the cost to the State decreased from ^588, 11s. in 1871-72 to ^562, 4s. 2d. in 1S72-73, and the total expenditure in the Government and aided schools from .£1368, 4s. rod. to ^1057, ns. 3d. Besides these, there were in 1872-73, 123 private unaided schools, attended by 1771 pupils. The major part of this increase in the number of schools and boys in 1872-73 was due to the extension of primary education since 1871. According to the area r [Semttna cdttixutd en f*£t 283] ■>3 O r* n . O 00 M *» ~ -* m : 00 ■*■•*■ 0> ^ Si 10 ^ 00 o U 1^ < n H |as o H O a •^ »o 0 2 *• "° J? : : 0 Q 00 *_» 00 00 ~< o\ "(j on vo c a r O is. si oo X v o V J 5 | C/3 \!Bu*a 3 00 O T?£1 a ■<■ ~o rt « 1 n g v ~ ~ > VI §2 1 CI E oo < VO SJ vo c» w **j »n r- 0 1 •; 00 tx 0 ; NO 1 CO * 1 1 s | > a o i * " X : : vo o CO tf o Q vo (J u CO j. 00 o> ; : »>. Q w 00 o •s? OO rO n m o\ •i£-oZgi V) ro 0> ! 00 •o 55Q vo I ■d •19-0991 ^ oo ■^-9*8* 0 10 ■ • 7. mm:. w : : . i 1 " 3 g •19-09^1 M : : : 1 3 o ■iS-gSgi | -r ; ; : | * > il. ■»*-■*•» | cT !? £ : o o "R DC i = O K ■19-098* | C "8. • n 5 u, o £6 •tf-gffS1 R- m • : vO M loj •ig-oggi | « 0 : * | jo •iS-9S"gi j * t» : : j 00 O wj ?" >|i| f-1' |."i ' o U 11 P -3- « 3 gw el ,8 13 h S N s" II is O o < £> 280 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. ing from jail manufactures amounted to Rs. 8194-9-8 (^819, 9s. 2d.), and the debits to Rs. 7797-15-9 G6779, 15s. nd.); excess of credits over debits or profit, Rs. 396-9-1 1 (.£39, 13s. 3d.); average earnings of each prisoner employed on manufac tures, Rs. 2-6-8 (4s. iod.). The average number of prisoners employed on prison manufactures in Shdhdbad Jail in 1872 was 16382, made up as follows : — Gunny-weaving, 16-56; gardening, 48-45; manufacturing clothing, 19-49; manufacturing bricks, &c, 5-07; oil-pressing, 7-57; flour-grounding, 967; manufacturing car pets, &c, 37*26; carpentering, -68; manufacturing blankets, 1020 ; ironwork, 0-14; thread-spinning, 8-73. Education has made little progress in Shihabad, as is the case generally throughout Behar. The number of Government and aided schools increased from eight in 1856-57 to thirteen in 1870-71, and the number of pupils in the same period from 354 to 589. The greater part of the cost of education in the first two years was defrayed by Government In 1856-57, out of a total cost of £Z91> os- 6d. for education, Government paid ^320, 7s. 7d. In 1860-61 the total cost of education in the Government and aided schools amounted to ^420, is. 7d., of which ^347, 16s. nd. was paid by the State. In 1870-71, out of a total cost of ^1089, 9s. 7c!., the Government contribution amounted to ^544, 16s. 2d. The comparative table on the opposite page, compiled from the Reports of the Education Department for 1856-57, 1860-61, and 1870-71, exhibits the number of Government and aided schools in the Dis trict in each of these years, the number of pupils attending them, the cost of education to Government, and the amount defrayed by fees or from private sources. Progress of Primary Education. — The foregoing account of education relates only to the years 1856-57, 1860-61, and 1870-71. In 1871-72, the number of Government and aided schools was 47, and rose in 1872-73 to 207 ; the number of pupils increased from 1572 to 4173, while the cost to the State decreased from ^588, us. in 1871-72 to .£562, 4s. 2d. in 1872-73, and the total expenditure in the Government and aided schools from ^1368, 4s. rod. to ^1057, us. 3d. Besides these, there were in 1872-73, 123 private unaided schools, attended by 1771 pupils. The major part of this increase in the number of schools and boys in 1872-73 was due to the extension of primary education since 1871. According to the area {Sentence continued on page 283.] IN . o» 00 « ; O eo V S J c? •8 O < H ^ «n e* w > b ** ° M : : < i s h CO o O H e» M •y * 0 *o 1 0 eo . , 00 eo S s ** ** « eo : O CO K Si ^ ^ m O W b CO C ft 1 e« S " — > OS IS e I n CO >j ►* ^ 0 5 ° a l ij co t^ 0 ; a CO ^ 1 1 S ? ISi e| o3 •<| o o i * " ff i i O CO w r o o Q VO U 1^. W 00 Q -> CO O m 1-1 M K •l£-oZgi O ro 0\ j CO Q I « en • 55 vO •19-090.1 0 ►*• : w & ^ eo o eo • m H « ■ZS-oSgl Mm 1 ■*- 7. •U^jig. | « : : : « H i5 3 V '9-°981 1 " • I : | " O ■«-qS8i 1 * : : : | ■» w a. > ■* m ^ •iZ-oioi VD o O ei e^ m : r^ O 19-0981 | ? "g. : " 1 J hi O 26 ■IS-gSii <* « & : : | % (J •iZ-oZgi IE1 2 S> : i ft a ■19-0981 c & | : 2 I 5 as H -ZS-9S8I | & j? : ; CO •ii-cZgi 1 »* 00 ■* * > 8 ■* ro •icj-oggi | 0 ; «*- | m 1 eg •CS-gSgi | h c-, • ; | 00 2 o ?' h i" i: o U fc. - E-5 E S JJ -oj S COT C3 -go -nvj n *|j= 4)U yj3 *= . u O 0 < t> 282 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. « * s « O O 0 0 H !? O r- 0 *o m ■ CO s» - 5 « n Km". so O x h h H s ■a •^ O - C7i in t--. o o t* 0 M niC « "i ♦ o , o * * M * ? M f £, ©. W fl.O n ♦ * " wl -i « M •* « *o h 00 *Q 3 = « t* iO N « - -< a ^- o 0 « - O c* -< >i - I-. « ri vo ao r- A "i M in 0 ro r^v0 r^ oim 00 SI « ;., aJ o ■a >- e> » oi m r^ 0 O r% 00 7. H ■*■ 0 , O ■* O •i 21 r*i o « t^ 00 i ■w ■♦ * m 1 J^ .. o n 00 O t^ n r-l 00 sj g CO « w 00 ■ in r* '8 s s5 r« % ■* o o o« t- W » J A "■. M ■o CI o **oo r^ {• H M 5 s' 8*v^ o - *o oo o - g (-tn 00 « M HJ a. *3 a ■ 2 * - •« 2 O wOi J 0 t^ 0 0 r* 00 u moo ■ r^ ■* i^ X B t** ii " ^ O p 0 £ t* 0 . rr, 00 ^ s in «■ « | n n 00 n i: c - ■xi ° 0 M ■ ■ ■♦ * 8Bi 5« p F 4 ° d« i 00 ^i « 00 N ? « M m m s S PL, >p O O 0 10 « 0 0 0 P o S » 0 ,-. « 0 0 ° . . 0 " s-a H I £ •J 2 . Wl v• to 1^ tl ♦ « oo H u. *0 tn 1^ n oi CO M oo as - HI H Im -, to O i^ -r S o *■',-.. rfl m o •U-zlsi oi r^ to K V o ■^ m IO ♦ ■• I^ .t in n "-. •zl-iL%i & 00 « ▼ H as « -1 n 3 2_; ■£L-zl%i - oo ♦ « ■* vn !, i : « o u 11 83 H E-g # •st-ilgi oo *♦ « M H z* • n * ■o "^ M c n »3 • - o > -5 " . * 5*g o . !•••• c I c o 1 3 *-s 1 , w P1 i 5 ■ • ■ • . < > ill u 3 i ^ 5 ■« 5 B > o a S 5 H o •3 c I •5 t cE ts-S « « < 2 r-OT3 •3-S-s U a U i C [Sentence coniinuedftvm page 380.] of the District, as returned by the Surveyor-General, and the popula tion as ascertained by the Census of 1872, there was in 1872-73 one school to every 2i-18 square miles, or to every 8328 of the popula tion ; the number of pupils at school being one to every 413 of the population. The total cost of education in Government and aided schools in 1872-73 amounted to ^1057, 11s. 3d., or an average cost of 5s. ofd. for each pupil. No means exist for ascertaining the amount expended on private education. The comparative table on the preceding page exhibits the results of 1872-73, as compared with those in the preceding year. Postal Statistics. — Between 1860-61 and 1870-71, the num ber of letters received at the Post-offices in Shahdbad District increased nearly twofold ; the number of letters received having risen from 106,195 in 1860-61 to 140,503 in 1865-66, and to 210,624 in 1870-71. The total number of letters, newspapers, parcels, and books received increased from 117,662 in 1860-61 to 151,445 in 1865-66, and to 224,670 in 1870-71. The number of letters despatched from the District Post-offices increased from 103,757 in 1860-61 to 139,931 in 1865-66; and the total number of letters, &c., from 105,825 in 1860-61 to 142,038 in 1865-66. The number of letters, &c., despatched in 1870-71 has not been supplied. In 1860-61, the postal receipts from cash collections (exclusive of those from sale of postage stamps) amounted to ^519, 6s. 4d., and the expenditure to ^690, 7s. 2d. In 1865-66, the postal receipts increased to ^597, os. 3d., and the expenditure to ^581, 3s. 9d. In 1870-71, the postal revenue had further increased to ^1076, 15s. 4d., and the expenditure to ^1300, 19s. 11d. The table on the following page, showing the number of letters, newspapers, &c, received at and despatched from the Shdhdbdd Post-office, together with the postal receipts and expenditure, for the years 186o-6r, 1865-66, and 1870-71, is compiled from a return specially furnished by the Director-General of Post-Offices : — r 284 ST A TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. Postal Statistics of ShahAbad District for the Years 1860-61, 1865-66, and 1870-71. 1860-61. 1865-66. 1870-71. •0 ■3 Despatched. ■ •6 u 1 t u u - 1 B. '8 u U V 0 V V PC OS Q K a Private letters . 86,305 86,136 "6,743 I22,6oi 210,624 Service letters . 19,890 17,621 23.760 >7,33o •0 > 140,503 139.931 O Total letters . 106,195 103,757 210,624 g Newspapers 1,036 8,373 9,064 0 9,»4 937 a Parcels 1,511 774 i,337 861 3,364 E 9 Books 842 258 i,232 309 I,6l8 c2 V Grand Total . 117,662 105,825 >5'.44S 142,038 224,670 Receipts from Cash £ '. d. £ > ■ d. £ '■ Administrative Divisions. — The District of Shdhibad is divided into the four following Subdivisions. The population statistics are compiled from statements iA and iB, Appendix to the Census Report of 1872 ; the Administrative figures are derived from a special report furnished by the Collector, and refer to the year 1870-71 : — (1.) TheSadr or Principal Subdivision, with the headquarters of the District at Arrah, contains an area of 965 square miles, with 354 villages or townships, 97,484 houses, and a total population of 614,980 souls, of whom 570,468, or 92-8 per cent, are Hindus; 44,339, or 7'2 per cent, Muhammadans; 122 Christians; and 51 belong to other religions not separately classified. The proportion of males in the total population is 47-5 per cent. ; average number of persons per square mile, 637 ; average number of villages or SUBDIVISIONS. 285 townships per square mile, 1-40; average number of persons per village or township, 454; average number of houses per square mile, 101 ; average number of persons per house, 6-3. This Sub division consists of the police circles (thdnds) of (1) Arrah, (2) Be- lautf, (3) Plru. In 1870-71, it contained 13 Magisterial and Revenue Courts, a regular police force of 322, and a village watch or rural police of 1629 men. The total separate cost of administration amounted to ^15,047, 9s. 5d. (2.) BaxAr Subdivision was formed in 1857. It contains an area of 626 square miles, with 781 villages or townships, 60,057 houses, and a total population of 371,039 souls, of whom 344,772, or 92-9 per cent., are Hindus; 26,054, or 7-0 per cent., Muhammadans ; 200, or o-i per cent., Christians ; and 13 belong to other religions. The proportion of males in the total population is 48 .i per cent. ; average number of persons per square mile, 593 ; average number of villages per square mile, 1/25 ; average number of persons per village, 475 ; average number of houses per square mile, 96 ; aver age number of persons per house, 6 -2. This Subdivision consists of the police circles of (1) Baxar, (2) Dumraon, (3) Chausa. In 1870-71, it contained 3 Magisterial and Revenue Courts, a regular police force of 155, and a village watch of 2 115 men. The total separate cost of administration amounted to ^4169, 2s. 7d. (3.) SAsserAm Subdivision was created in about 1846. It con tains an area of 1757 square miles, with 1668 villages or townships, 65,981 houses, and a total population of 443,703 souls, of whom 404,933, or 91*3 per cent., are Hindus ; 38,567, or 87 per cent., Mu hammadans; 134 Christians; and 69 belong toother religions. The proportion of males in the total population is 49-4 per cent. ; aver age number of persons per square mile, 253; average number of villages per square mile, "95 ; average number of persons per village, 266 ; average number of houses per square mile, 38 ; average number of persons per house, 67. This Subdivision consists of the police circles of (1) Dhangaon, (2) Nokhd, (3) Sasseram. In 1870-71, it contained 3 Magisterial and Revenue Courts, a regular police force of 176, and a village watch of 2 115 men. The total separate cost of administration amounted to ^6671, 13s. 5d. (4.) BhabuA Subdivision was formed on 10th September 1865. It contains an area of 1037 square miles, with 1307 villages or town ships, 51,519 houses, and a total population of 294,252 souls, of 286 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. whom 270,470, or oro per cent., are Hindus; 23,711, or 81 per cent, Muhammadans ; 5 Christians ; and 66 belong to other religions. The proportion of males in the total population is 49-4 per cent. ; average number of persons per square mile, 284 ; average number of villages per square mile, 1 '26 ; average number of persons per village, 225 ; average number of houses per square mile, 49 ; aver age number of persons per house, 57. This Subdivision consists of the police circles of (1) Bhabud with Chand, and (2) Ramgarh. In 1870-71 it contained two Magisterial and Revenue Courts, a regular police force of 118, and a village watch of 1379 men. The total separate cost of administration amounted to £4184, is. 2d. Fiscal Divisions. — For fiscal purposes Shahdbdd District is divided into thirteen pargands. The following list, compiled mainly from the Board of Revenue's statistics of area, land revenue, &c, exhibits the area of each pargand in acres and square miles, the number of estates comprised in each, and the amount of land revenue paid to Government. The figures should be looked upon with caution, and as only approximating to correctness : — (1.) Arrah contains an area of 157,819 acres, or 24639 square miles ; it comprises 498 estates, and pays to Government an annual land revenue of .£26,273, I0S- (2.) BArahgAwAn : area, 22,319 acres, or 3487 square miles; 78 estates; land revenue, £3576, 12s. (3.) Bhojpur : area, 257,260 acres, or 401-97 square miles; 148 estates; land revenue, £16,200, 16s. (4.) BihiyA: area, 15,421 acres, or 24-10 square miles; 316 estates; land revenue, £14,768, 2s. (5.) ChAinpur : area, 399,618 acres, or 624-40 square miles; 1013 estates; land revenue, £32,996, 16s. (6.) ChausA : area, 126,252 acres, or 197-27 square miles; 416 estates ; land revenue, £8261. (7.) DanwAr : area, 171,118 acres, or 26737 square miles ; 345 estates; land revenue, £7840, 18s. (8.) DinArah : area, 35,002 acres, or 54-69 square miles; 55 estates; land revenue, £2101, 18s. (9.) Nanor : area, 63,264 acres, or 98-85 square miles; 154 estates ; land revenue, £10,574, 6s. (10.) PanwAr : area, 70,263 acres, or 109-78 square miles; 112 estates; land revenue, £5360, 8s. CLIMATE: RAINFALL, ETC. 287 (11.) Piru: area, 113,786 acres, or 17779 square miles; 358 estates ; land revenue, ^16,236. (12.) RohtAs : area, 348,298 acres, or 54421 square miles; 130 estates; land revenue, ^2679, 6s. (13.) SAsserAm : area, 501,637 acres, or 783-8i square miles; 933 estates; land revenue, ^23,211, 2s. The statistics thus furnished by the Board of Revenue return the total area of the District at 2,282,057 acres, or 356570 square miles, containing 4556 estates, and paying a land revenue of ^170,080, 14s. The present area of the District, however, is returned by the Surveyor-General at 4385 square miles. The Collector, in July 1873, returned the total number of estates in the District at 4870; and the total land revenue payable to Government by their pro prietors at ^172,541, 12s. Medical Aspects of the District. — The climate of Shahabad does not materially differ from that of the neighbouring District of Gaya, which has been described ante on pp. 146, 147 of this volume. The following table of the monthly rainfall for 1873 is extracted from Mr. A. P. MacDonnell's Report on the Food Grain Supply of Bengal and Behdr, and may be taken as thoroughly accurate : — Statement of Monthly Rainfall in ShAhAbAd District for 1873. Ir ii J j s E Subdivision. 1 u V s V pu O > Total. c 0. ■ c 3 O. 0 rt s < SI 3 3 < 0 O W V. a •32 Arrah . . . 06 ro6 70 191 19 76 1091 30O •oS 3780 •55 ■os Sasseram . . . 11 170 22.6l 7-62 I67 34*9' •40 •10 •23 Baxar .... 65 115 io-oo 8.IO r6o '5 2238 ■36 Bhabua . . . 550 .21 1680 'o-39 345 3671 — ■49 District average . •36 09 1 94 124 17 29 925 2.43 •11 32-95 Endemics and Epidemics. — The prevailing endemic diseases of Shdhabdd are intermittent and remittent fevers of the ordinary type, bowel complaints, ophthalmia, and skin diseases. During 1873 fever was extremely prevalent in the District, 10,395 deaths, or 602 288 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. per thousand of population, having been reported by the police from this cause, against 5205 deaths, or 3-01 per thousand in the previous year. In April 1873 an epidemic of cholera first assumed a serious form, and in the following month became diffused over the whole of the District Towards the middle of June it increased con siderably in the neighbourhood of Arrah, attained its maximum in July, and eventually died away in November. The total number of deaths reported from cholera throughout the year was 4692, or 272 per thousand of the population ; while in 1872 the deaths had numbered only 540, or -31 to every thousand of the population. Smallpox also prevailed during the year in various parts of the District, but there is reason to believe that cases of measles and chicken-pox were returned as smallpox. The total number of deaths assigned to smallpox in 1873 was 811, or "47 per thousand, as against 235 in 1872, or -13 per thousand. Ten vaccinators were employed to conduct vaccine operations ; and the result of their work was that out of 5700 persons vaccinated, 4994 cases proved successful, 35 were doubtful, and 671 failed. In one place an outbreak of smallpox was traced to innoculation, which had been carried on by two old inoculators who had received vaccina ting certificates. They admitted the charge, but pleaded that they were compelled to return to their former practice, as the people declined to pay for vaccination. Vital Statistics. — There are two selected areas, one urban and one rural, in Shdhdbad, for the collection of vital statistics. The urban area of Baxir contains a total population of 13,775 persons, of whom 6700 are males and 7075 females. A double agency is employed in registration. The municipal constables report deaths to the municipal head constables, and the peons or messengers employed by the municipality also report to the tax ddrogd. The municipal head constables then test the returns by comparison and local investigation. In 1873, 417 deaths were reported from the urban area, showing a death-rate of 30-26 per thousand of popula tion. The Sanitary Commissioner considers the registration to have been very fair, with the exception of female deaths, which were under-registered. The rural area of Jagdfspur contains 9514 males and 5033 females, the total population being 14,547. Here the cfiaukiddrs, or village watchmen, report the deaths to a writer- constable specially engaged for the purpose, who checks the reports by visiting the villages once a week. In 1873, 508 deaths were DISPENSARIES. 289 reported from the rural area, showing a death-rate of 34*92 per thousand. The Sanitary Commissioner considers the registration creditable, and remarks that the mortality among women appears to have been peculiarly high. From the combined urban and rural areas of the District, 925 deaths were reported during the year, showing a death-rate of 32*66 per thousand. General Conservancy: Town Sanitation, &c. — In the town of Arrah the sum of Rs. 4624-5-9 (^£462, 8s. 8d.), or 36*25 of the total municipal revenue, was expended on improvements ; of which Rs. 1756-13-10 (^175, 13s. 8d.), or 1377 percent, was devoted to conservancy, and Rs. 2867-7-1 1 (^286, 15s.), or 22*48 percent, to opening up fresh roads. Public latrines and urinals will shortly be constructed, and a great improvement in the sanitary condition of the town is anticipated from this measure. In the District generally no advance in sanitation has been made. Charitable Dispensaries. — In 1872 there were six charitable dispensaries in Shahabad — at Arrah, Sisseram, Jagdfspur, Dumraon, Baxar, and Dehrl-on-S<5n. The following brief account of each is condensed from the " Report on the Charitable Dispensaries under the Government of Bengal for 1872." A table showing the com parative statistics of the relief given is printed at the end of the list {vide p. 292) : — (1.) Arrah Dispensary, established in February i860, was in 1872 under the charge of a First-Grade Sub-Assistant Surgeon. The sum of ^1000 is invested in Government securities. During 1872, ,£125, 4s. was collected in subscriptions and donations from private sources. The total income of the year amounted to ^425, 8s., and the expenditure to ^408, 8s., leaving a cash balance in hand of jC11- In-door patients: total cases treated, 280; recovered or relieved, 225; died, 26, or 9-28 per cent of the total cases; average daily number of sick, 11 "51. Out-door patients : total num ber treated, 8752 ; the average daily attendance at the dispensary being 112*31. (2.) SAsserAm Dispensary, established in March 1865, was at the close of 1872 in charge of a Sub-Assistant Surgeon, who reports that cholera prevailed from April to June, and was largely diffused from village to village. Many in-door patients were admitted in a moribund state, and the death-rate amounted to 1878 per cent of the patients treated. During 1872 the sum of ^167, 4s. was col lected in subscriptions and private donations. The total income of VOL. XII. s 290 STA TISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. the year amounted to ^240, 8s., and the expenditure to ^281, 12s. In-door patients : total cases treated, 165 ; recovered or relieved, 126; died, 31, or 1878 per cent. of the total cases; average daily number of sick, 7-27. The number of out-door patients treated in 1872 was 4046 ; the average daily attendance being 63-23. (3.) jAGDfspur Branch Dispensary, established in 1864, was in 1872 under the charge of a First-Class Hospital Assistant. During the first half of the year the attendance was very good ; but it subse quently fell off to such an extent, that the total number of admissions of in-door and out-door patients in 1872 was less than that of the previous year by more than one thousand. During 1872, the sum of ^82, 12s. was collected in subscriptions and private donations. The total income of the year amounted to ^175, 4s., and the expen diture to the same. In-door patients : total cases treated, 88 ; recovered, 64; died, 1, or 1-13 per cent. of the total cases; average daily number of sick, 2-90. Out-door patients, 1872 : total number treated, 2906 ; the average daily attendance at the dispensary being 42-6o. (4.) DumrAon Dispensary, established in 187 1, was at the end of 1872 in charge of a Third-Grade Sub-Assistant Surgeon. This institution was four times visited by the Civil Surgeon during the year, who reported that it is steadily increasing in usefulness and popularity. The income of ^12 per mensem, provided by the Mahdrajd of Dumraon, has been more than sufficient for the wants of the dispensary, and there was a credit-balance of more than ^30 at the end of the year. Out of this a sum ol £\o was devoted, by a resolution of the dispensary committee, to the purchase of medical and surgical books for the use of the officer in medical charge. During 1872 the sum of ^144 was collected in subscrip tions. The total income of the year amounted to ^245, 8s., and the expenditure to ^227, 4s. In-door patients: total cases treated, 55 ; recovered or relieved, 36; died 4, or 7-27 per cent. of the total cases ; average daily number of sick, 5 -oo. The number of out-door patients treated in 1872 was 4148, the average daily attendance being 122-00. (5.) BaxAr Dispensary, opened in July 1866, was in 1872 under the charge of a Third-Class Hospital Assistant. During 1872 the sum of ^48, 1 6s. was collected in subscriptions and private dona tions. The total income of the year amounted to ^106, 8s., and expenditure to ^115, 18s. In-door patients: total cases treated, DISPENSARIES. 291 133; recovered, 100; died 14, or 10-52 per cent. of the total cases ; average daily number of sick, 6.i3. The number of out door patients treated in 1872 was 3071, the average daily attendance being 33-35. There is a second charitable institution at Baxdr, the Railway Dispensary, which has been open since May 1872, and which Dr. Francis describes as follows : — " This is an admirable insti tution. It is situated sufficiently near the station to be useful to the railway employe.s and others, and yet far enough from its bustle and noise. It is intended for native pilgrims, for the servants of the company, and for European travellers out of health, requiring a day or two's rest, and for whom there is no other accommodation in the station. The building consists of a single room for two or three Europeans, well furnished ; a ward for twelve or fourteen natives ; side-rooms, and suitable out-offices ; the whole having been fitted up at a cost of ^40. A palanquin has been provided for the transport of the sick to and from the railway station." (6.) DEHrf-ON-SoN Dispensary. — This is a hospital situated at the headquarters of the irrigation works, forming the centre of medical relief for those employed in connection with the canals, the general population of the locality, and such pilgrims and travel lers as may fall ill. The entire medical arrangements are under the charge of Dr. Jackson, who is assisted at headquarters by a sub- assistant surgeon and native doctor, and has five native doctors located at the following stations : — Barun, Barari, Wallddad, Nas- rfganj, and Dhaudang. The hospital at Dehrf can contain 44 patients. The high death-rate during 1872, viz., 19-86, was mainly due to cholera, which caused 34 deaths, and dysentery, 11. In that year, the total income amounted to ^577, 10s., and the expenditure to the same. In-door patients : total cases treated, 287 ; recovered, 223 ; died, 57, or 1986; daily average number of sick, 11-64. The number of out-door patients treated in 1872 was 3627, the average daily attendance being 70-96. Geology. — The Kaimur Hills belong to what geologists term the Lower Vindhyan series, and the Kaimur Subdivision to the Upper Vindhyan series. The former formation is found in a narrow strip of country under the plateau extending from near Sasseram to the Mirzapur boundary, but it is also found in a few spots on the [Sentence continued on page 293. ] 161,785 .£ s- 4088 281 12 1754 2274 18 115 577'o i a V 1 0 H £ •■ 108 4 2088 82 12 16 125 586 5836 II ... U V 0 h i 2 Expenditure. £ t- 264 03004 60 7304 48 09212 608 0101 '05743'2 3676 57710 16842 1,20210 PaidbyGovernment. 0 ComparativeStatisticsShAhXbAdYear1872.DispensariesDistrict orintheoffor £ >■ 0,2 M a 1 p 5 £ »• 36 4 134 4412 8 41 214 2104 359'4 B ■o.a. sa i . §^ c- O Opcraiions. 696 193 78 326 10 »3 1316 - .5 53 c fa 8. J e 0 a 0 ■3 *s. 6 33 '4 2 '9 1 11 80 ■J 11231 6329 4260 12200 3335 7096 Out-door patients. Q 8 •3 1 V rt 1 V M e 0 > < 8,752 3,627 26,550 4,046 2,906 4,148 3,°7' t H ii-Si 727 2-90 500 6-13 '64 1 E w •5 O H 3 « Q ... 928 1878 727 1052 1986 "8,1 si 62 1319 3 0 •a n i«3 In-doorpatients. A «33 c 26 1 4 14 57 •d 5 3' •0 £ E 0 C O. a 0 55 21 3 22 5 '3 64 225 126 64 IOO 223 774 J N 0 u 36 ■ 280 '65 88 55 '33 287 1008 ■6 E S 1 1865 1864 871 1 1866 a I 8 0 «J a i860 ... (30JagdispurBranchDispensary NamesDispinsarus. or (2.)SasscramDispensary . (4.)DumraonDispensary . (I.)ArrahDispensary (5.)liaxarDispensary Dehri(6.)Dispensary Total .... GEOLOGY. 293 [Sentence continued 'from page 291.] plateau itself. It is occasionally seen cropping out between Sasse- ram and Champur, after which it disappears completely for 200 miles, reappearing near Tirhowan. Its extreme length from Rohtis- garh to where it is last seen in Bandalkhand is 350 miles. The lowest bed in the series is called the " conglomeritic sandstone," which, when found in the east, rests with total unconformity on the vertical, or nearly vertical, beds of the slate series. In the outliers from the plateau, which are met with to the south-east of Rohtasgarh, this bed and the next two of the series are entirely absent ; lime stone, porcelanic shales, and beds apparently representing the fourth member of the series, rest directly on the crystalline rocks. A group of rocks, ten miles north of Sasserdm, has all the appearance of granite, but the rocks really consist of very coarse quartzos'e and felspathic sandstone, containing many pebbles of a red felspathic rock and quartz. After the trappoid beds, we find porcelanic shales, shaly sandstone, limestone, shales, and sandstone, in the complete series ; but these are not represented in this part of the range, the next bed being the well-known limestone, which is undoubtedly the most important and constant of the whole series. It is exposed in the river Dargaiitf, being the only Lower Vindhyan rock occurring on the plateau, with the exception of the doubtful conglomerate already mentioned. From Rohtisgarh it may be traced to its exit into Mirzapur District, as far as Mangesar Hill, the strata between these places varying from 1 or 2 to 12 inches in thickness. In the north-east, the rock is very thinly and evenly bedded, the same layer being often traceable along the section ; south-east of Chdinpur, for instance, it occurs in strata of half-an-inch to four inches in thickness, varying in colour from a light to a dark grey, with an occasional pinkish tinge. It is a hard, tough, flinty rock, containing occasional layers of thinly- bedded and laminated shales, which vary in composition, some being earthy, and others highly calcareous. At Badokhar, ten miles south of Sasseram, the limestone is principally thin-bedded (a quarter to three-quarters of an inch thick), of a light grey, passing sometimes into greenish grey and salmon colour, and of a very fine and even texture. The thicker beds are often semi-crystalline, with irregular seams of calcite ; and in some places flinty lamina? alternate with those of limestone. It is in this limestone that the sacred Gupta cavern of the Dargautl valley is to be seen [described ante p. 2 1 6]. The thickness at Rohtasgarh has been estimated at 700 feet. As a 294 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SHAHABAD DISTRICT. rule, it is covered with shales, earthy and calcareous below, hard and splintery above, and divided into small sub-cubical and triangular masses. Above the shales again is another small band of limestone. In the Dargautf valley we find the best sections, exhibiting the junc tion of the Upper and Lower Vindhyan series. In all cases, the Kaimur sandstone rests unconformably on the Rohtas limestone, which there occupies the highest place in the Lower series. The lower sub-group of the Kaimur group of the Upper Vindhyan series is especially developed at the eastern end of the plateau, though it may be best studied along the Ghdgar river in Mirzapur. Fine sections are also obtainable in the Dargautf valley. South-east of Kudhur, the black shale (at Bijigarh) rests immedi ately on the Rohtas limestone, while the Lower Kaimur sandstone intervenes in other localities. It has, therefore, been concluded that the lowest beds of the Kaimur group must have been irregularly de posited. The shales in the Dargautf valley are about 150 feet thick, or about the same depth as at Bijigarh. A section in one of the lateral gorges exhibits " pencil " shales, quite black and intensely brittle, and covered two or three inches deep with minute sharp-pointed fragments. The joints which intersect them have a rusty appearance from decomposed pyrites, and, in some cases, are traversed by veins from one to two inches thick of this same mineral. A little higher up, the latter are mixed with a good deal of black and dark-coloured sand stone, the shale on the weathered surface looking just like impure coal, from which appearance, no doubt, sprang the idea that coal existed in these hills. In general, this formation consists of bands of pure shale and thin-bedded shaly sandstone. Owing to the pyrife- rous nature of the shale, efflorescences of sulphate of iron and alum are common, and have been utilised to a small extent East of Chainpur the shales are indicated by fragments in the watercourses, but they are not found either at Sasseram or Chainpur, where they appear to have either died out or sunk below the level of the alluvium. INDEX GAYA AND SHAHABAD. Arwal, town and thdnd in Gaya, 23, 31, 57, '43- Aboriginal population of Gaya, 27, 34, 37, Arwal, pargand in Gaya, 144. 38; of Shahabad, 188-191, 197-201. Aspects, General physical, Gaya, 18, 19 ; Absentee landlords, Gaya, III, 112; Shahabad, 158, 159. Shahabad, 255. Aspects, Medical. Set Medical. Abwdbs, or customary cesses, in Gaya, Atri, village and thdnd in Gaya, 31, 55, 70-72. 141. Administrative history of Gaya, 122. Atri, pargand in Gaya, 144. Administrative headquarters of Gaya, 17, Aurangabad, subdivision in Gaya, 31, 62- 18 ; of Shahabad, 204. 65, 142. Administrative divisions, Gaya, 31, 141- Aurangabad, town and thdnd in Gaya, 31, 143; Shahabad, 284-286. 63, 142- Adwantnagar, town in Shahabad, 202. B Agarwdld caste in Shahabad, 193. Age, Population classified according to, Babhan caste in Gaya, 130, 131 ; in Gaya, 30; Shahabad, 181, 183. Shahabad, 192. Agricultural implements, Gaya, 96 ; Babura, town in Shahabad, 202. Shahabad, 240-243. Bagand, town in Shahabad, 203. Agriculture in Gaya, 82-107 ; in Shaha Baidyanath, village in Shahabad, 214. bad, 229-250. Baigds, or village priests, in Shahabad, Air, town in Shahabad, 202. 220. Aktiarpur, town in Shahabad, 202. Bakror, village in Gaya, 55, 56. Alluvion in Shahabad, 164. Balance-sheets. See Revenue and Ex Amusements of the people, Gaya, 78-81; penditure. Shihabad, 229. Bdlaur, town in Shahabad, 202. Anchha, pargand in Gayd, 145. Balgaon, town in Shahabad, 202. Animals, Domestic. See Domestic. Bampati, town in Shahabad, 203. Animals, Wild. See Fercc Nature, Loss Bands, river in Shahabad, 163. of life by. See Deaths. Baniya caste in Shahabad, 193. Antiquities of Gaya, 58-60 ; of Shahabad, Banks of rivers, Gaya, 22 ; Shahabad, 209-217. 164, 165. Area of Gaya, 1 7 ; cultivated, 94. 95 : of Barabar Hills, Gaya, 19, 58, 59. Shahabad, 157; cultivated, 238-240. Bardchati, village and thdnd in Gayd, 31, Arrah canal, 170, 1 7 1. 55. HI-, „ , , , Arrah, town and thdnd in Shahabad, 157, Barahgdwan, pargand in Shahabad, 286. 182, 203, 204, 257, 275, 285. Baraon, town in Shahabad, 203. Arrah, pargand in Shahabad, 286. Bargdon, town in Shahabad, 202. Arrah (Sadr), subdivision in Shah;ibad, Barhampur fair, Shahabad, 264, 265. 182, 247, 284, 285. Barndon Khas, town in Shdhabdd, 202. 2<}6 INDEX. Barsaunf, town in Shahabad, 202. Ceremonies. See Marriage. Barun, village in Gaya, 64. Cesses, Illegal, Gaya, 70-72. Baxar canal, 171, 172. Chain pur, town in Shahabad, 203, 212- Baxar, town and Ihdnd, in Shahabad, 182, 214- 203, 204, 205, 257, 275. 285. Chainpur, pargand, in Shahabad, 286. Baxar, subdivision in Shahabad, 182, 247, Chamar caste in Shahabad, 200. 285. Changes in jurisdiction, Gaya, 18; Sha Bela, village and mart in Gaya, 55. habad, 158. Belauti, thdttd in Shahabad, 182, 275, Changes in river-courses, Gaya, 21, 22 ; 285-. Shahabad, 215. Bhabua, town and ilidnd in Shahabad, Charkanwan, pargand in Gaya, 145. 182, 203, 208, 275, 286. Chaukldars. See Police, Rural. Bhabua, subdivision in Shahabad, 182, Chaunsa, village in Shahabad, 215. 248, 285, 286. Chaunsa canal, 171, 172. Bhadari, town in Shahabad, 203. Chaunsa, Ihdnd in Shahabad, 182, 257, Bhalawar, pargand in Gaya, 144. 275, 285. Bhars, an aboriginal tribe in Shahabad, Chaunsa, pargand in Shahabad, 286. 190, 191. Cherus, an aboriginal tribe in Shahabad, Bhat caste in Shahabad, 192. 188, 189. Bhojpur, town in Shahabad, 203. Children under twelve. See Age. Bhojpur, pargand in Shahabad, 286. Chillies in Gaya, 93, 94. Bhojpur Jadid, town in Shahabad. 203. Chitamanpur, town in Shahabad, 203. Bhojpur Kadim, town in Shahabad, 203. Cholera in Gaya, 147-149 ; in Shahabad, Bihia, pargand in Shahabad, 286. 288. Bihia, railway station in Shahabad, 257* Christian population, Gaya, 30, 39, 40 ; Bihta, town in Shahabad, 202. Shahabad, 181, 183, 201. Bilonja, parganA in Gaya, 146. Climate, Gaya, 146, 147 ; Shahabad, 287. Bindaulia, town in Shahabad, 202. Cloth manufactures in Shahabad, 260. Bind caste in Shahabad, 198. Commerce and Trade of Gaya, 117-119 ; Birds of Shahabad, 179, 180. of Shahabad, 257, 263-269. Blights in Gaya, 107 ; in Shahabad, 250. Communication, Means of, Gaya, 112, Blind, Number of, in Gaya, 32 ; in Sha 113 ; Shahabad, 255-257. habad, 183. Condition of the people, Material, Gaya, Bodh Gaya. See Buddh Gaya. 73-82 ; Shahabad, 223-229. Boundaries of Gaya, 18; of Shahabad, Conservancy, Shahabad, 289. 158. Conveyances in Gaya, 81, 82. Brahpur, town in Shahabad, 203. Cotton, Cultivation of, in Gaya, 87-S9 ; Brahma Samaj, The, in Gaya, 39, 41. in Shahabad, 235. Brahmans in Gaya, 35-37 ; in Shahabad, Court of Wards, Estates under, Gayi, 191. 104. Buddh Gaya, formerly the residence of Courts, Civil and Criminal, Gaya, 126; Sakya Sinha, 53-55. Shahabad, 275. Buddhain hill, Gaya, 19. Criminal classes, Gaya, 130, 131; Shaha Buniyadganj, village in Gaya, 55. bad, 278. Burglary in Gaya, 129. Criminal statistics, General, Gaya, 128- 131 ; Shahabad, 277, 278. Crops. See Tillage. Cultivation. See Tillage. Canals in Gaya, 22, 23 ; in Shahabad, Cultivators, Condition of the, Gaya, 95 ; 168-172. Shahabad, 240. Capital and Interest, Gaya, 119, 120 ; Currumshaw Hills, Gaya, 19. Shahabad, 269, 270. Castes, Gaya, 35-38 ; Shahabad, 191-197- Cattle in Gaya, 27. D Cattle disease in Gayi, 149. Cave of Gaptiswar, in Shahabad, 216, 217. Dadar, pargand in Gaya, 145. Caves, Sdlghar, in Gaya, 58, 59. Ddk&iti, or gang-robbery, in Gaya, 129. Census of 1 872, in Gaya, 29-32; in Sha Dakhnair, pargand in Gaya, 143. habad, 180-183. Danwar, pargand in Shahabad. 2S6. Cereal crops, Gaya, 82-86 ; Shahabad, Darauti, village in Shahabad, 214. 230-234. Dargaiiti river, 166. INDEX. 297 Daudnagar, town and thini in Gaya, 23, Ethnical division of the people, Gaya, 31, 42, 62, 63, 142. 32-34; Shahabad, 183-186. Deaf and dumb, number of, Gaya, 32 ; Expenditure and revenue, Gaya, 122-126; Shahabad, 183. Shahabad, 271-275. Deaths by drowning, Gaya, 23. Exports from Gaya, 117-119; from Deaths by wild beasts and snake-bite, Shahabad, 263-266, 268, 269. Gaya, 28; Shahabad, 180. Dehn, village in Shahabad, 208, 209. Density of the population, Gaya, 30, 31 ; Shahabad, 180, 181. Fairs in Gaya, 1 49, 150; in Shahabad, Deo, village in Gaya, 63. 264, 265. Deodha, village in Gaya, 62. Famine of 1866, in Gaya, 108-110; in Dhakaya Kalan, town in Shahabad, 203. Shahabad, 251-253. Dhangaon, thini in Shahabad, 182, 275, Famine of 1874, in Gaya, 1 10, III; in 2?5- Shahabad, 253, 254. Dhangars, an aboriginal tribe in Shaha Famine Warnings, Gaya, m; Shahabad, bad, 191. 255- Dhoba, or Kao river, 165. Females. See Sex. Dhobi, village in Gaya, 55- Fera natunz of Gaya, 28 ; of Shahabad, Dhola, village in Gaya, 62. 179, 180. Digwdrs, or village policemen in Gaya, Ferries, Gaya, 20, 65. 69, 70, 128. Fibres, Gaya, 87 ; Shahabad, 235. Dinarah, pargani in Shahabad, 286. Fiscal divisions (pargands), Gaya, 143- Diseases, Gaya, 147-149 ; Shahabad, 146 ; Shahabad, 286, 287. 287, 288. Fishes of Gaya, 24, 25 ; of Shahabad, Dispensaries in Gaya, 152, 153 ; Shaha 167. bad, 289-291. Fisheries in Gaya, 23, 24 ; in Shahabad, Domestic animals of Gaya, 95, 96 ; l67- ... of Shahabad, 240. Fishing castes and communities, Gaya, Dosadhs in Shahabad, 198, 199. 23 ; Shahabad, 197. Drainage, Lines of, Gaya, 25 ; Shahabad, Fishing, Modes of, Gaya, 24. 168. Floods in Gaya, 107 ; in Shahabad, 250, Dress of the people, Gaya, 75; Shaha 251. bad, 225. Food of the people, Gaya, 75, 76 ; Droughts in Gaya, 107, 108 ; in Shaha Shahabad, 227, 228. bad, 251. Foreign landlords, Gaya, III, 112; Drowning, Deaths by. See Deaths. Shahabad, 255. Drugs, Indigenous, Gaya, 150-152. Forest Trees of Gaya, 26, 27. Dulipur, town in Shahabad, 202. Fruit-trees of Gaya, 87 ; of Shahabad, Dumb, Number of. See Deaf and Dumb. 235- , , , Dumraon, town and thini in Shahabad, Furniture of the people, Shahabad, 226, 182,203, 257, 275, 285. 227. Durmri, town in Shahabad, 203. Dwakhas, town in Shahabad, 202. Dwellings of the people, Gaya, 75 • Shahabad, 225, 226. Games. See Amusements. Ganges river, 163, 164. Gaptiswar, The sacred cave of, in Shahabad, 216, 217. East India Railway, Shahabad, 257. Gareri caste in Shahabad, 194. Educational statisticsJ Gaya, 134-140 ; Garhanf, town in Shahabad, 202. Shahabad, 280-283. Gaya District — Ekil, pargana in Gaya, 144. Geographical Situation, Area, and Eklaspur, town in Shahabad, 203. Boundaries, 17-18; Jurisdictions, 18; Ekwari, town in Shahabad, 202. Physical Aspects, 18, 19; Hills, 19; Emigration and immigration, Gaya, 34, Rivers, 19-22 ; Canals, 22, 23 ; River 35; Shahabad, 186-188. Traffic, 23 ; Fisheries and Fi>hes, 23, Endemics and Epidemics. Set Diseases. 25 ; Lines of Drainage, 25 ; Mineral Enhancement of rent. See Rent-Law. Products, 25, 26 ; Forest and Jungle Erannoboas, ancient name of the Son Products, 26, 27 ; Fcrtt naturtr, 28 ; river, q. v. Population — Early Estimates, 28, 29 ; :.< INDEX. The Census of 1S72, its Agency ami Divisions, 141-143 ; List of Fiscal Di Results, 30-51 ; Density 30 : Classiri- visions [pargands), 143-146 ; Climate, cation according to Sex. Rtuigton. and Temperature and Rainfall, 146, 147 ; Age, 30 ; Lnnrmiries. 30. 32 : jiianical Diseases, 147. 14S; Cholera, 148, 149; Division 01 the Peopie. 32-54 : Hiil Cattle Diseases. 149 ; Fairs as Causes of Tribes ami Aborigines. 34. ; Immigra Disease. 149, 150; Indigenous Drugs, tion and Emigration. 54. 35 : List of 150-152; Native Physicians, 152; Hindu Caste>, 3>-;7'. Munammiuian Charitable Dispensaries, 152, 153. Classes, 37: Semi-H:ndm;»i A. origi Gaya yarjand, 143. nals. 37, 38; Religious Dmsiuns ol Cava town and thdna, 17, 31,42-50, 141. Peouie, 39-41 ; Divisions 01 the Gayawals, a class of Brahmans, 35-3S, people into town and country. 41. 49. 5°- 43 : Towns — Gaya. 42-44 : Gava Geoiogical formations, Gaya, 25, 26; Pugrrmages, 44—49 ; The Gavawals Shanabad, 158, 159, 162, 163, 176-17S, 49, 50; T kan, 50-55: Otaer 201-294. Towns, Places of Historical In Goaia caste in Shahabad, 194. terest. &L. 53-05 ; T'.ie Mutiny of Gobindpur mart in Gaya, 62. 1S57, 65-00 : Vilai^e Institutions and Goh. ~ar^iind in Gaya, 145. Orhaals. 00, 70 : Acrvaos or Customary Goniii. town in Shahabad. 202. Cesses, 70-72 : Rural Sers, 72, 73 ; Government estate in Gaya. 103. 104. Material Condition of the People — Green crops, Gaya, 86 ; Shahabad, 234. Dress, Dwellings, Food, Marri age Ceremonies, Games and Amuse- merits, Musical Instruments. Convey H ances, 73-82 ; Agnculture — Rice Cul tivation and Crops, 82-84: Other Hariharganj, town in Shahabad, 203, 25S. Cereals, 84 -So ; Green Crops and Hasua, town in Gaya, 42, 60, 61. Vegetables, So, S7 : Fruit-trees, 87 ; Hatampur, town in Shahabad, 202. Fibres, 87 -. Cotton, 87-09 ; Oil-seeds. Hiils ot Gaya, 19; of Shahabad, 159, 160. S9-0.1 ; Opium, or, 92 ; Indigo. 02 ; H:il passes in Shahabad, 100. Sugar-cane and Pan, 92. 03 ; Cullies, Hindu population, Gaya, 30, 39 ; Shaha 05, 04 ; Cultivated Area. Out-turn of bad, tSi, 201. Crops, 4c, 94, 95 ; Condition of the ' Holdings, Size ot See Cultivators, Con- I dition of. Peasantry. 05 ; Domestic Animals, 05, 96 ; Agricultural Implements. 90 ; Houses of the people See Dwellings. Wages and Prices, 97, 98; Weights Houses, Number of, Gaya, 30, 31 ; Sha and Measures. 9S-too; Spare Land, habad, 1S0. too; Land Tenures — Intermediate Husbandmen. Sa Cultivators. Tenures, too, 101 : Cultivators' Hold ings, 101, 102 ; Revenue -Frre Ten ures, 102, 103 ; Government Estates, 103, 104 : Rates of Rent, 104, 105 ; Idiots, Number of, Gava, 30, 32 ; Shaha Rotation 01" Crops, 105 ; Manures and bad, 1S3. Irrigation. 105-107 ; Natural Calami Imamganj, mart in Gaya, 56. ties — Floods and Blights, 107 : Immigration. See Emigration. Droughts, 107, 108; The Famine of Implements of agriculture, Gava, 96 ; 1366, 108-no: The Famine of 1S73- Shahabad, 240-243. 74, 1 10, III; Famine Warnings. 1 1 1 ; Imports into Gaya, 1 17-1 19 ; into Shaha Foreign and Absentee Landholders, bad, 263-265, 207-269. III, tI2; Roads, 4c, 112, 113; Incomes and income tax, Gaya, 120, 121 ; Manufactures, 113-117; Commerce and Shahabad. 275. Trade, 117-120; Newspaper, 120 ; Inii:genous drugs. See Drugs. Income and Income-tax. 120, I2t; Indigo cultivation in Gava, 92 ; in Shaha Local Institutions, 121 ; Administrative bad, 237, 238. History, 122; Revenue and Expendi Inhrms, Number of, Gaya, 30, 32 ; Sha ture, 122-124; Land Revenue, 124- habad, 183. 126 ; Civil and Criminal Courts, 126 ; Insanes, Number of, Gaya, 30 ; Shaha Operation of the Rent- Law, 126, 127; bad, 183. Police and Jail Statistics, 127-134; Inundations. See Floods. Educational Statistics, 134-140; Postal Institutions, Local, Gaya, 121; Shahabad, Statistics, 140, 141 ; Administrative 270, 271. INDEX. 299 Iron in Cava, 25, 26. Kurmf caste in Gaya, 37 ; in Shahabad, Irrigation in Gayi, 23, 105-107 ; in Shi 195- , hibid, 168, 241-243, 249, 250. Kutumba, pargand in Gaya, 145. J Jagdispur town, in Shihibid, 203. Ldkhirdj tenures in Gaya, 102, 103. Land measures, Gaya, 99, 100; Shaha Jahanabad subdivision, Gaya, 31,56-60, bad, 245. «43- Jahanabad, town and thdni in Gaya, 31, Land, Rent of. See Rent. Land revenue, Gaya, 125, 126; Shaha 42, 56, 57, 143. Jahanabad, town in Shahabad, 203. bad, 275. Jail manufactures, Gaya, 134; Shahabad, Land, Spare, Gaya, 100 ; Shahabad, 279, 280. 247. Jail statistics, General, Gaya, 131-134; Land tenures, Gaya, 100-104; Shaha Shahabad, 278-280. bad, 245, 246. Jains in Gaya, 39, 41. Landless labouring classes, Shahabad, jfamdwah system of indigo cultivation in 246, 247. Shahabad, 237, 238. Lepers, Number of, Gayi, 32 ; Shahabad, Jangal Dawi, town in Shahabad, 202. 183. Jarah, pargand in Gaya, 145. Long-stemmed rice. See Rice. Jeth royals, or village headmen, in Shaha Loss of life by drowning, wild beasts, and bad, 219, 220. snakes. See Deaths. Jungle products, Gaya, 26, 27 ; Shahabad, 172-176. M Jurisdictions, Gaya, 18; Shahabad, 158. Mahair, pargand in Gaya, 143. Jute cultivation, Shahabad, 235. Maher hill, Gaya, 19. Majhianwan, Ihdnd in Gaya, 142. K Males. See Sex. Manorah, pargand in Gaya, 145. Kabar, pargand in Gaya, 144. Manufactures of Gaya, 113-117 ; of Sha Kadirganj mart in Gaya, 62. habad, 257-263. Kaimur hills in Shahabad, 158, 159, Manures, Gaya, 105 ; Shahabad, 248, 160, 176, 291, 293. 249. Kao river, 165. Marriage ceremonies and customs, Gaya, Karamnassi river, the accursed stream of 76-78. the Hindus, 164, 165. Marshes in Shahabad, 168. Kari Sath, town in Shahabad, 202. Masir, village in Shahabad, 214, 215. Karsand, town in Shahabad, 203. Material condition of the people. See Kathia, town in Shahabad, 202. Condition. Kawalihol mart in Gaya, 62. Measures and Weights, Gayi, 98-100 ; Kayasth caste in Shahabad, 193. Shihibad, 245. Kesat, town in Shahabad, 203. Medical Aspects, Gayi, 146-153 ; Shi Kharwirs, an aboriginal tribe in Shaha hibad, 287-291. bad, 189, 190. Meteorological Statistics, Gayi, 146, 147 ; Khudkdsht land tenures, Gaya, 101. Shihibad, 287. Koasa, or Koith, town in Shahabad, Minerals, Gayi, 25, 26; Shihibad, 176- 179. Koen caste in Shahabad, 195. Missionary efforts in Gayi, 39, 40. Koelwar, railway station in Shahabad, Mithila, town in Shihibid, 203. 257- . . , Mortality. See Vital Statistics. Kols, an aboriginal tribe in Shahabad, Mountains. See Hills. 190. Mokrf, town in Shihibad, 203. Konch village in Gayi, 55. Mosoi, town in Shihibid, 203. Kora (Koheri) river, 167. Mughuls in Shihibad, 202. Kudra river, 166. Muhammadans, Gayi, 30, 37, 39, 40 ; Kiinthl system of indigo cultivation in Shihibid, 181, 183, 201, 202. Shahabad, 237, 238. Municipal Police. See Police. Kurakvihar hill, Gaya, 19. Municipalities in Shihibid, 202, 203, Kurand, town in Shahabad, 203. 276. 300 INDEX. Musahars, an aboriginal tribe in Gaya, Panwar, pargand in Shahabad, 2S6. 37, 38 ; in Shihabad, 19S. Paper, Manufacture of, in Gaya, 115, tl6; Musalman*. See Muhammadans. in Shahabad, 258, 259. Musical Instruments, Gaya. 81. Pa*gands of Gaya, 143-146 ; of Shaha Mutiny of 1857, in Gaya, 65 ; in Shaha bad, 286, 287. bad, 217-219. Parinawal. town in Shahabad, 203. Patana village in Shahabad, 216. N Pathans in Shahabad, 202. Pdthsdlds. See Primary Education. Nabfnagar, thdnd, in Gaya, 31, 142. Patna canal, 22, 23. Nainijor, town in Shahabad, 202, Pdhva*is, or village accountants, in Sha Nanor, pargand in Shihabad, 286. habad, 220, 221. Narhat, pargand in Gaya, 145. Peasantry. See Cultivators. Nasriganj, town in Shahabad, 203, 20S, Phalgu river, 21. 258, 264. Pilgrimages, Gaya, 44-49. Native Christians, in Gaya, 39, 40. Piru, thdnd in Shihabad, 182, 275, 285. Native physicians, Gaya, 152. Piru, pargand in Shahabad, 287. Nats in Shahabad, 190. Police cicles, Gaya, 127 ; Shahabad, Natural calamities, Gaya, 107-ni ; Sha- hahad, 250-255. Police, Municipal, Gaya, 128 ; Shahabad, Nawada, town in Shahabad, 202. 276. Nawada, town and thdnd in Gaya, 31, Police, Rural, Gaya, 69, 70, 12S; Sha 60, 142. habad, 276, 277. Nawada subdivision, Gaya, 31, 60-62, Police statistics, general, Gaya, 127-131; '4* , Shihabad, 275-278. Naya Bazar, town in Shahabad, 203. Population, Gaya, Early estimates, 28, Newspapers, Gaya, 120. 29; the census of 1872, 29, 30 ; aver Nimaii, town in Shahabad, 203. age density of the, 30 ; classification Nokha, town in Shahabad, 203. according to sex, religion, and age, 30 ; Nonkha, thdnd in Shahabad, 182, 275, ethnical division of, 32-34 ; religious 285. divisions of the, 39-41 ; division of, Nuniya caste, in Gaya, 1 17; in Shaha into town and country, 41, 42 : Shiha bad, 197. bad, Early estimates, 180; the census of 1872, 180; average density of the, 0 180, 181 ; classified according to sex, religion, and age, 181-183; ethnical Obra village in Gaya, 64. division of the, 183-186 ; religious Occupancy rights. See Rent-Law. division of the, 201, 202 ; division of, Oil-seeds, Cultivation of, in Gaya, 89-91; into town and country, 202, 203. in Shahabad, 234, 235. Postal statistics, Gaya, 140, 141 ; Shaha Okri, pargand in Gaya, 144, 145. bad, 283, 284. Operation of the Rent- Law of Bengal. Pot-stone quarry in Gaya, 26. See Rent- Law. Prices and wages, Gaya, 97, 98 ; Shaha Opium, Cultivation of, in Gaya, 91, 92 ; bad, 243-245. in Shahabad, 236. Primary education in Gaya, 138-140 ; in Oriwan, town in Shahabad, 203. Shahabad, 280-283. Ornaments worn by the people, Shaha Protection to persons and property. .SVir bad, 225. Courts. Out-turn of crops, Gaya, 94, 95 ; Shaha Pun pun river, 20, 21. bad, 238-240. Rajbhars. See Bhars. Pachniki, pargand in Gaya, 145, 146. Raghunathpur, town in Shahabad, 203, Pahara, pargand in Gaya, 143, 144. 257- . , Pdhlkdsht land tenures in Gaya, 101. Railway traffic, Shahabad, 257, 269. Pakribaranwan, thdnd in Gaya, 142. Railway, East India, Shahabad, 257. Pdn cultivation in Gaya, 93 ; in Shaha Rainfall in Gaya, 147 ; in Shahabad, 287. bad, 236. Rajauli, town and thdnd in Gaya, 25, 31, Panchdyats, or village councils, in Sha 42, 61, 142. habad, 221. Rajpur, town in Shahabad, 203. INDEX. 3°' Rajputs in Shahabad, 191, 192. Sayyids in Shahabad, 202. Rajwars, an aboriginal tribe in Gaya, 37, Schools. See Educational Statistics. 38 ; in Shahabad, 199. Serfs, Rural. See Slavery. Ramgarh, thini in Shahabad, 182, 275, Sex, Population classified according to, 286. Gaya, 30 ; Shahabad, 181, 183. Religious divisions of the people, Gaya, Shahpur, town in Shahabad, 202.. 3°> 39-41 ; Shahabad, 181, 183, 201, ShXhXbad District — 202. Geographical Situation, Area, and Rent-free tenures, Gaya. 102, 103. Boundaries, 157, 158 ; Jurisdictions, Rent-law, Operation of, Gaya, 105, 126, 158; Physical Aspect, 158, 159 ; Hills, 127 ; Shahabad, 240, 248. 159, 160; River System, 160-167; Rent of land, Rates of, Gaya, 104, 105 ; Fisheries, 167 ; Long-stemmed Rice, Shahabad, 247, 248. 168 ; Lines of Drainage, 168 ; Canals, Revenue and expenditure, Gaya, 122-126; 168-172 ; Jungle Products, 172-176; Shahabad, 271-275. Minerals, 176-179; Ferte natura, 179, Rice crops and cultivation, Gaya, 82-84 i 180; Population, Early Estimates, l 80; Shahabad, 230-232. The Census of 1872, its Agency and Rice, Long-stemmed, in Shahabad, 168. Results, 180, 181 ; Classificationaccord- Rice plant, Names of, at different stages, ing to Sex, Religion, and Age, 181-183; Gaya, 84 ; Shahabad, 232. Infirms, 183 ; Ethnical Division of the Rice, Preparations of, Gaya, 84. People, 183-186 ; Immigration and Rice, Varieties of, Gaya, 83; Shahabdd, Emigration, 186-188 ; Aboriginal 231. Tribes, 188-191 ; List of Hindu Castes, Rights of occupancy. See Rent-Law. 191-197 ; Semi-Hinduized Aborigines, Rivers of Gaya, 19-22; of Shahabad, 197-200 ; Religious Division of the 160-167. People, 201, 202 ; Town Population, River traffic, Gaya, 23 ; Shahabad, 265- 202, 203 ; List of Towns and Places of 269. Historical Interest, 204-217; The Roads in Gaya, 112, 113 ; in Shahabad, Mutiny of 1857 in Shahabad, 217-219 ; 255-257. Village Institutions and Officials, 219- Road traffic, Gaya, 118, 119. 223 ; Material Condition of the People Roh, pargani in Gaya, 146. — Dress, Dwellings, Food, Amuse Rohtas, pargani in Shahabad, 287. ments, &c, 223-229 ; Agriculture — Rohtasgarh, Ruins of, in Shahabad, 209- List of Crops, 229 ; Soils, 229, 230 ; 212. Rice Cultivation, 230-233 ; Other Rotation of crops in Gaya, 105 ; in Sha Cereals, 233, 234; Green Crops and habad, 250. Oil-seeds, 234, 235 ; Other Crops, Rural police. See Police. 235-237 i Indigo, 237, 238 ; Cultivated Area, Out-turn of Crops, &c, 238-240; Condition of the Peasantry, 240 ; Do mestic Animals, 240 ; Agricultural Im Sabalpur, town in Shahabad, 202. plements, 240, 241 ; Irrigating Ma Sadr subdivision of Gaya, 31, 50-56, chines, 241-243 ; Wages and Prices, 141 ; of Shahabad, 182, 247, 284, 285. 243-245 ; Weights and Measures, 245 ; Safflower, Cultivation of, in Shahabad, Land Tenures, 245, 246; Landless 236, 237. Day- Labourers, 246, 247 ; Spare Land, Sahibganj, town in Gaya, 17, 42, 43. 247 ; Rates of Rent, 247, 248 ; Manure, Sahsram, town in Shahabad, 202. 248, 249 ; Irrigation, 249, 250 ; Rota Sakardi, town in Shahabad, 202. tion of Crops, 250 ; Natural Calamities, Sakmer, town in Shahabad, 203. Blights, Floods, and Droughts, 250, Saltpetre, Manufacture of, in Gaya, 117. 251 ; The Famine of 1866, 251-253 ; Samal, pargani in Gaya, 146. The Famine of 1873-74, 253, 254; Sa.na.nt, pargani in Gaya, 144. Famine Warnings, 255; Foreign and Sanitation. See Conservancy. Absentee Landholders, 255 ; Means Sara Tarn, town in Shahabad , 203. of Communication — Roads, 255-257 ; Sasseram, pargani in Shahabad, 287. Railways, 257; Manufactures, 257-263; Sasseram, town and thini in Shahabad, Commerce and Trade, 263-269 ; Capi 182, 203, 205, 206, 264, 275, 285. tal and Interest, 269, 270; Local In Sasseram, subdivision in Shahabad, 182, stitutions, 270, 271 ; Revenue and Ex 248, 285. penditure at different Periods, 271-274; Sitghar caves in Gaya, 58, 59. Land-Tax, 275 ; Income- Tax, 275 ; 30i INDEX. Civil and Criminal Courts, 275 ; Police Tikdri, town and thdnd in Gaya, 31, 42, »nd Tail Statistics, 275-280; Educa 50-53, 141. tional Statistics, 280-283; Postal Statis- Tillage, Gaya, Rice crops and cultiva tics,283, 284; Administrative Divisions, tion, 82-84 , other cereals, 84-S6 ; 284, 280 ; List of Fiscal Divisions (par- green crops, 86 ; vegetables, 86, 87 ; gands), 286, 287 ; Rainfall, 287 ; En fruit-trees, 87; fibres, 87; cotton, 87- demics and Epidemics. 287, 288 ; Vital 89; oil-seeds, 89-91; opium, 91, 92 ; Statistics 288, 289; General Conser indigo, sugar-cane, pan, and chillies, vancy, Town Sanitation, &c, 289 ; 92 - 94 ; cultivated area, and out Charitable Dispensaries, 289-291 ; Geo- turn of crops, 94, 95 ; implements, 96 ; logT. 291-294. rotation of crops, 105 ; manure and Shaikhs in .Shahabad, 202. ir*igation, 105-107 ; Shahabad, List Sher Shah's mausoleum in Shahabad, of crops, 229 ; soils, 229, 230 ; rice 206-208. cultivation and crops, 230-232 ; other Shergarh, Ruins of, in Shahabad, 212. cereals, 233, 234 ; green crops, oil Sherghati, town and thdnd in Gayd, 31, seeds and vegetables, 234, 235 ; other 42, 53. '41- crops, 235-237 ; indigo, 237, 238 ; cul Sherjjhaii, pargand in Gaya, 144. tivated area, out-turn of crops, &c, Sinha, town in Shahabad, 202. 238-240 ; implements, 240-243 ; man Siris, pargand in Gaya, 145. ure and ir*igation, 24S-250 ; rotation Size of holdings. See Cultivators, Con of crops, 250. dition of. Tilothu village in Shahabad, 215, 216. Slavery in Gaya, 72, 73. Towns, &c., in Gaya, 41-65. Snake-bite. See Deaths. Trade. See Commerce. Soap, Manufacture of, in Shahabad, Tungi mart in Gaya, 62. 260, 261. Soil of Gaya, 18 ; of Shahabad, 229, 230. Sonar caste, in Shahabad, 194, 195. Vaccination in Gaya, 147. S6n b*idge, 163. Varieties of rice. See Rice. Son canal, 22, 23, 168-172. Vegetables in Gaya, 86, 87 ; in Shaha Son river, 19, 1 60- 1 63. bad, 235. Spare land. See Land. Village dues and cesses, Shahabad, 221- Subdivisional Administration. See Ad 223. ministrative. Villages, Number of, Gayd, 31; Shaha Sugar-cane cultivation in Gaya, 92, 93 ; bad, 180, 182. in Shahabad, 235, 236. Village officials and institutions, Gaya, Sugar, Manufacture of, Shahabad, 258. 69-73 , Shahabad, 219-223. Supahf, town in Shahabad, 203. Village watch. See Police, Ru*al. Sura river, 1 66, 167. Vital statistics, Shahabad, 288, 289. Suraj Mandil, temple in Gaya, 64. Surajpura, town in Shahabad, 203. w Wages and prices, Gayd, 97, 98 ; Shaha bad, 243-245. Tantf caste in Shahabad, 196. Wd*isaliganj mart in Gayd, 61. Tehta, village in Gaya, 57. Waste land. See Land. Temperature of Gaya, 146 ; of Shahabad, Wazirganj, village and mart in Gayd, 55. 287. Weights and Measures, Gayd, 98-100; Tenures. See Land. Shahabad, 245. Thdnds of Gaya, 127; of Shahabad, Wild Animals. Set Fera Natura, Loss 275 of Life by. See Deaths. PRINTED BV UALLANTYNB, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON J